Saut-d'Eau ( ht, Sodo) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Mirebalais Arrondissement, in the
Centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
department of
Haiti. It has 34,885 inhabitants.
Its name is French for 'waterfall', named after a large waterfall called 'Le Saut'. It is said that this waterfall was created in the
massive earthquake of May 7, 1842.
The waterfall is approximately 100 feet high and is the tallest in Haiti.
[
The area holds cultural significance in Haiti, to both ]Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Vodou practitioners. In the 19th century, it is believed that the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (or the closely associated Erzulie Dantor, a Vodou loa
( ), also called loa or loi, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerat ...
) appeared on a palm tree there.
In some accounts, this appearance is said to have occurred during the 1860s.[Alain R. Thermil and Amy L. Sheaffer (2005). "Perceptions of Haitians Toward Tourism Development in Rural Haiti" (pp. 200-208) in: ] Another account states that there were two appearances of the Virgin in the 1840s and later in the 1880s.[Davis (2010) states on page 170 that "On July 16, 1843, and then again on the same day in 1881, the Virgin Mary appeared on the top of a palm tree near the village of Ville Bonheur..."]
In Laguerre's detailed account, an apparition of the Virgin Mary first reported in Saut d'Eau on July 16, 1849, by a man reportedly named Fortune Morose.[ In numerous oral accounts collected by Laguerre from local people, the young man went away in fear but returned shortly accompanied by a police officer. Together, they found a portrait of the apparition on the leaf of a nearby palm tree.
Trees where the apparition took place are reported to have been cut down by French priests. In Laguerre's description, the locals "have fresh in their memory" that
Annually, the falls are the site of a large, important religious ]pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
, during the festival of Our Lady of Carmel, from July 14–16.[ A Eucharistic rite is held during the festival, as well as various vodou rituals, but the penultimate devotional activity is bathing in the waters of the falls, and asking favors of the Virgin or Erzulie.
The water is also sacred to the loa Damballah and Ayida Wedo, the book '' The Serpent and the Rainbow'' is named for their appearance at this site.
The pilgrimage has been described as an excellent "example of the syncretic nature of Haitian religious life. In Ville-Bonheur there is a Mass, and the church's statue of the Virgin is paraded around town, while at the falls there are Vodou baptisms and ceremonies.... Ville-Bonheur throngs with people who happily attend both religious gatherings".]
References
External links
Saut d'Eau, Ville-Bonheur
(3:47, YouTube), video by Rene Durocher
La Vierge Miracle de Sodo
(7:43, English subtitles, YouTube), describes festival from a Catholic perspective
{{Communes of Haiti
Populated places in Centre (department)
Communes of Haiti