Monday, September 2, 2013

Saint John's Day — Redux, Pt. II

So here is the second part of the video you all waited so patiently for me to post. This is what you've really been waiting for. We get pyrotechnics here.

The ritual itself is actually quite interesting, with traditional religious song, and sigils which Haitians might call vevers, which are in the tradition of the medieval and renaissance ceremonialists. The names written around the base of the pyre are the names of the Angels which are commonly used in Theurgic rituals.

The Masonic ritual viewed in these two videos is a public ritual, one in which the majority of the city of Jacmel attends and in which they participate. This was record several years ago in Jacmel, which is southwest of Port au Prince, the capital. Similar rites are practiced by other lodges across Haiti and are annual events much anticipated by the members of the lodge and the local population alike.

Not at all what modern North American Freemasons are used to, but very much in keeping with what came over from Southern France in the mid 18th Century when Haiti was still Saint Dominque, and the most prosperous colony in the entire New World.

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