The Attitude of Vodouyizan towards Christians in Haiti: A Case for Interreligious Dialogue and Education

In this essay, I analyse the language and message of two songs that are written within the framework of a postcolonial critique of imperial and neo-colonial Christianity. In both songs, the artists make counter claims toward Christianity and call the Haitin people to reject its colonized form and reclaim their ancestral faith of Vodou. The first lyric, “Guede/Gede,” is a rasin song (roots music) composed by the famous Haitian band Rasin Bwa Kayiman. This band follows the musical genre of mizik rasin, rara, rabòday, and the rhetoric of resistance and liberation tradition of Boukman Eksperyans, RAM, Boukan Ginen, Racine Figuier, etc. The second song I examine is called “E Si’ L Pavle Vini” and is written by the Haitian rasta artist-activist Tiga Jean Baptiste. The chapter closes with some recommendations on how practitioners of Vodou and Protestant Christianity can pursue healthy interfaith dialogue toward generous tolerance, inclusivism, and human flourishing.