Marie Laveau: Full Of Secrets

Marie Laveau: Full Of Secrets

When my New Orleans Religions class first discussed Marie Laveau, the "Voodoo Queen," I was struck by her mysterious magical powers and her success as a prominent figure in Voodoo. Marie Laveau catered to different people in New Orleans, from all walks of life. Whether her client was a slave, or a high-society white male, she would perform a service for them. It was even said during her time period that Marie Laveau could "look into your soul."

While doing some research, I read that Marie Laveau was a hair dresser in her younger years. She would go to high-society houses to give her hair services to wealthy white women. According to the article "The Voodoo Queen Of New Orleans" by Daniel Cumerlato, Marie Laveau would ask the slaves who worked at the high-society houses for the secrets of all the upper class townspeople. Marie Laveau knew more about the citizens of the city than the government.

Another interesting fact pertaining to Marie Laveau's work, is that she visited Yellow Fever patients in order to help their transition period more comfortable. It is said that she would visit patients during the worst break out of Yellow Fever and Cholera, bringing herbal medicines and Voodoo prayer in order to heal patients. The article also discusses how the local church frowned upon this.

My question is, can we attribute Marie Laveau's knowledge of the townspeople on Voodoo alone, or could it be that she also knew things through word of mouth? The mystery will always remain.