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More than fifty years ago, Maya Deren observed that for the adherents of Vodou, "the metaphysical world of les Invisibles is not a vague, mystical notion; it is as a world within a cosmic mirror, peopled by the immortal reflection of all those who had ever confronted it."1 Since Deren 's time, the means of sustaining life have changed dramatically for most Haitians. The population has shifted increasingly to urban centers, most notably Port-au-Prince, which has roughly doubled in size in the past two decades. Rural land in the mountains and plains has been eroded to the point that the production of agriculture has been seriously compromised. Cities lure youth with the hope of jobs, and as potential launching points to search for livelihood abroad. Foreign remittances now make up the largest part of the national economy, and most food is imported. In spite of all this, the service of the Iwa (spirits of Vodou) and the dead remain strong, though not unchanged. So how do Vodouists understand the quotidian life of the dead today? What image does it reflect of the world of the living?
The land and the dead are two resources that are deeply interconnected in Afro-Haitian spiritual practices. Most Haitians do not call these practices "Vodou" per se, but identify as either sévi Iwa (serving the spirits), Katolikfran (straight Catholic), or Protestant. In rural Haiti, the service of the spirits and the dead is inherited through family and based in the eritaj, or ancestral land. Tombs and familial cemeteries demonstrate a claim to the land, and are also the receptacle for offerings of food during the month of November when the dead are celebrated. What happens though when the family is removed from the land and from their ancestors to the city?
As a set of beliefs and practices, the service of the Iwa and the dead in urban Haiti is still primarily concerned with addressing the everyday needs of its adherents, mostly love, money, justice, and healing. The most marked difference between the religious life of rural and urban life in Haiti is how and where the dead are interred. Karen McCarthy Brown (1991) describes the experience of displacement that characterizes the Port-au-Prince necropolis: "(T)he urban cemetery reiterates the city...