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A scientific investigation and personal adventure story about zombis and the voudoun culture of Haiti by a Harvard scientist. In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombis--people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture. In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti--from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti's countryside. The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.… (more)
Initially, I was really into this book, and I was impressed by the author’s descriptive talent. One of my favorite passages was a description he wrote early in the book about riding a train.
Still, the rhythm of the rails is always seductive, and the passing frames race by like so many childhood fantasies, alive in color and light.
My interest waxed and waned the further I got into the book. His sections about the history of poisoning and the fear of being buried alive were fascinating. I wasn’t as enamored of the in-depth explanations of the plants he was studying in relation to the zombie poison, but when he got to puffer fish and tetrodotoxin, he piqued my interest again. As the author moved away from his original goal of tracking down poison and antidote—he did accomplish the first part to the satisfaction of his financial backers, but he included no account of whether or not it was used in the way they’d hoped—I started to lose interest in his tangents. The history of Haiti is extremely interesting, and I did like the deviation from his own story to give that background. His explanations of vodoun and its secret societies were a bit more convoluted, and it was hard to tell how much he truly learned. By his own descriptions, it was unclear how much people were really confiding in him, and he often had to pay for the glimpses, bits and pieces he was allowed. I appreciated that he apparently loved the country and seemed respectful of the culture. I liked this description of returning to Haiti after a year away.
Still, along with the easy happiness I had come to associate with the country, I was aware of a new and perhaps less superficial sensation—that sense of familiarity and alienation that comes to one who knows a place well, but who can never hope to become a part of it.
A couple of personal issues probably affected my rating, even though they had nothing to do with the quality of the writing. I was disturbed that a man nearing his thirties had a teenage girl as his guide and traveled extensively with her. Maybe that’s cultural bias on my part, but it bothered me. Also, it was surprising how often he was willing to drink unknown substances and put them on his skin, given that either was a possible delivery system for poison. It struck me as more foolish than brave. This might deserve a higher rating than I gave it, but I was so ready to be done by the end, I think I’ll stick with 3 stars and still say it’s worth a read. ( )
I forgot how much I loved this book. It's been at least a decade since the last read. Full of scientific facts, deep history, and beautiful mystical passages. Gives you a world view and draws you into Haiti's soul. I will definitely start looking for more of Mr. Davis's books. ( )
A fascinating account of Mr. Davis' research on a supposed biological compound used to put the human body in a state of stasis indistinguishable from death that turns into an ethnography of the Haitian people, with special emphasis on their Vodun traditions. The author presents a captivating and intimate look at the history and religious traditions of Haiti by getting to know, and subsequently proving himself, to a few practicing sorcerers in order to gain the amazingly vivid look at Vodun religion found in this book. This is simply a book that I don't think I'll ever forget. ( )
He knew the story of King Da, the incarnation of the Serpent, which is the eternal beginning, never ending, who took his pleasure mystically with a queen who was the Rainbow, patroness of the Waters and of all Bringing Forth.
—A. CARPENTIER
The Kingdom of This World
Everything is poison, nothing is poison.
—PARACELSUS
Dedication
To my parents,
to Professor Richard Evans Schultes, who made it possible,
and to John Lennon.
First words
My first meeting with the man who would send me on my quest for the Haitian zombi poison occurred on a damp miserable winter's day in late February 1974.
Quotations
Last words
He too was possessed, like the youth straddling the dying bull, or the dancers and the women wallowing in the mud.
A scientific investigation and personal adventure story about zombis and the voudoun culture of Haiti by a Harvard scientist. In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombis--people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture. In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti--from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti's countryside. The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.
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A scientific investigation and personal adventure story about zombis and the voudoun culture of Haiti by a Harvard scientist.
In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombis—people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture. In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti—from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti’s countryside.
The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.
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My interest waxed and waned the further I got into the book. His sections about the history of poisoning and the fear of being buried alive were fascinating. I wasn’t as enamored of the in-depth explanations of the plants he was studying in relation to the zombie poison, but when he got to puffer fish and tetrodotoxin, he piqued my interest again.
As the author moved away from his original goal of tracking down poison and antidote—he did accomplish the first part to the satisfaction of his financial backers, but he included no account of whether or not it was used in the way they’d hoped—I started to lose interest in his tangents. The history of Haiti is extremely interesting, and I did like the deviation from his own story to give that background. His explanations of vodoun and its secret societies were a bit more convoluted, and it was hard to tell how much he truly learned. By his own descriptions, it was unclear how much people were really confiding in him, and he often had to pay for the glimpses, bits and pieces he was allowed. I appreciated that he apparently loved the country and seemed respectful of the culture. I liked this description of returning to Haiti after a year away.
A couple of personal issues probably affected my rating, even though they had nothing to do with the quality of the writing. I was disturbed that a man nearing his thirties had a teenage girl as his guide and traveled extensively with her. Maybe that’s cultural bias on my part, but it bothered me.
Also, it was surprising how often he was willing to drink unknown substances and put them on his skin, given that either was a possible delivery system for poison. It struck me as more foolish than brave.
This might deserve a higher rating than I gave it, but I was so ready to be done by the end, I think I’ll stick with 3 stars and still say it’s worth a read. (