Laveau, << luh VOH, >> Marie (1801-1881), was an African American Voudou queen (priestess) in New Orleans. Voudou (also spelled Voodoo) is a religion that combines African religious and magical beliefs with Roman Catholicism. It is related to the Vodou faith practiced in Haiti (see Vodou ).
Laveau was born on Sept. 10, 1801, in New Orleans, to parents of mixed African and European ancestry. Her mother and grandmother were born into slavery, but freed before Laveau was born. Accounts of Laveau describe her as a strikingly beautiful woman with a personality that attracted people of all classes and races.
In 1819, Laveau married a Haitian man named Jacques Paris. She became a widow a few years later. In the 1820’s, Laveau established a domestic partnership with Christophe Glapion, a white man. At that time, Louisiana law prohibited marriage between blacks and whites. Laveau gave birth to several children, but only two survived to adulthood.
In the 1830’s or 1840’s, Laveau assumed leadership of the multiracial Voudou congregation of New Orleans. She held weekly Voudou ceremonies and gave consultations at her cottage in the French Quarter neighborhood. Laveau also is credited with leading Voudou dances in the city’s Congo Square. This historic site where slaves used to gather to sing and dance is now a section of Louis Armstrong Park. Laveau is thought to have held an annual Voudou celebration on St. John’s Eve (June 23) at Lake Pontchartrain, north of the city. St. John’s Eve, also known as Midsummer’s Eve, was traditionally a time for holding bonfires and other celebrations to call upon the good spirits and chase away the bad ones.
Laveau retired from her spiritual practice in the 1870’s. She continued helping the needy, as she had done for much of her life. She died at her home on June 15, 1881. According to popular legend, Marie’s daughter Marie Heloise continued her work as a Voudou queen, but there is no evidence that Marie Heloise did so.
