Cécile Fatiman wasn't muslim

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Boukman didn't know how to read	Tamerlan wasn't muslim	Dédé Magrite wasn't muslim
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Boukman wasn't muslim	Vèvè (ritual drawings) are not muslim	The drapo (ritual flags) are not islamic
Macandal wasn't muslim	The origin of Macandal	Yaya was not muslim
Halaou wasn't muslim	Saint Domingue's islamized were submissive

 

 

(Li li an kreyòl)       (Version française)

Author : Rodney Salnave
Function : Dougan (Scribe)
Date : January 13, 2017

(Updated : Aug. 13, 2019)

 
The revisionist thesis advocating the islamism of the Haitian Revolution, through the Bois Caiman (Bwa Kayiman) ceremony, should never have been taken seriously, as soon as it was known that during this ceremony a woman officiated the sacrifice of a sacred pig whose blood was drunk by the participants. But, given the systemic and chronic weakness of the Haitian intelligentsia, the revisionist predators allowed themselves to dare the illogical. And their urban legend has germinated both with the alienated Haitians and with their foreign allies. But all this ends here. Because the joke has run long enough, and the Haitian ancestral intelligence resumes its rights.

1- Who was the woman officiating that service ?

Haitian author Hérard-Dumesle, shortly after his Voyage dans le Nord, (Journey in the North), unveiled the holding of the Morne Rouge meeting of August 14th 1791, followed one week later by the ceremony in which a young woman sacrificed an animal. (1) This young priestess was called Cécile Fatiman. However, her identity remained unknown for a long time. And never the world would have been informed of her existence, if it relied on colonized historians such as Jean Fouchard who, as early as 1953, (2) was busy speculating on the supposed higher knowledge of the islamized captives (slaves). Cécile Fatiman's identity was unveiled in 1954 by historian Étienne D. Charlier, based on the testimony of General Pierrot Benoît Rameau, the great-grandson of Madame Fatiman, and a hero of the resistance against the American occupation of Haiti (1915-1934) :

"Cécile FATIMAN, wife of Louis Michel PIERROT, who commanded an indigenous battalion in Vertières and later became President of Haiti, participated in the Bois-Caïman ceremony: she was a mambo. Daughter of an African Negress and a Corsican Prince, Cécile FATIMAN was a mulatto with green eyes and long black silky hair and had been sold with her mother in Saint-Domingue. The mother also had two sons who disappeared at random from the slave trade, leaving no traces. Cécile FATIMAN lived in Cape [Haitian] until the age of 112, in full possession of her faculties. 
We have this information from General Pierrot Benoit Rameau, grandson of Louis Michel Pierrot and his wife, who has authorized us to make them public. We know that General Rameau is one of our national heroes, of whom we speak very little, probably because he is alive and, consequently, cumbersome. Indeed, in 1915, when the North American military intervention occurred, he fought in the North as General-in-Chief of Rosalvo BOBO's troops. In agreement with the latter, and in spite of all the tempting offerings of the invader, he opposed the Convention that he was fighting with arms in his hand: which earned him more than eleven years in prison and the confiscation of his fortune. 
In the most complete indifference, "the Haitian man" of today, this curious by-product of our great history, sees this strange old man pass from quite another age: from the age of our greatness, one to bow low in front of, in spite of his formless French, where an implacable logic and national honor are carried to the highest point: your $ 100,000 can not supply my honor, Captain Waller! Replied Rameau to the occupier who wished to buy it: Toussaint Louverture, Dessalines, and most of our great chiefs of 1804, spoke no more elegantly. Rameau's interview with Colonel Waller and Admiral Caperton took place at the Dates of the Gonaives, at the house of Mr. Desert in September 1915, in the presence of the American consul Woel, father of Mr. Gaston Woel." (3)

Putting aside his heroic journey and the accuracy of his testimony, it should be noted that General Rameau did indeed identify his great-grandmother Cécile Fatiman as a Mambo and not a muslim priestess - a liturgical position that doesn't exist in the misogynist monotheistic islamic religion. For if Cécile Fatiman were of muslim faith, the word mambo - meaning an ancestral priestess - would certainly not have been used by her great-grandson who, on the contrary, would have specified her muslim singularity. Moreover, Charlier, collecting the testimony in question, unequivocally described this ceremony of Bois Caiman as "an imposing vodou ceremony." (4).

Here is the genealogy of General Rameau who was not the grandson but the great-grandson of Cécile Fatiman and President Jean-Louis-Michel Pierrot.

1. Cécile FATIMAN + Jean-Louis-Michel PIERROT
2. Alfred PIERROT + Marguerite Avelina FRANÇOIS
3. Anne Marie Altagrâce PIERROT + NN RAMEAU
4. Pierre Benoit RAMEAU (5)

So, according to Hérard-Dumesle's account, the priestess at this ceremony called "Bois Caiman" was a young, not an old woman. For Cécile Fatiman was 16 years old in 1791. And this is entirely in line with the statements of her great-grandson who affirmed that she died at the age of 112. Indeed, she was born outside of the Saint Domingue colony in 1775, and died in Cape-Haitian in 1887. (But the date 1883 is suggested by some sources).

2- Use of the Fatiman surname is the West

The islamic sounding of "Fatiman" was enough for all the revisionists to declare, without proof, that the manbo was muslim. In 1992, Gérard Barthélémy began the hostilities by claiming the islamity of Cécile Fatiman :

"Popular legend has brought back other curiously complementary clues. One of which is the name of the priestess, whose fate tradition has linked to that of Boukman, at the ceremony of Bois-Caïman. She was named Cécile Fatiman according to Étienne Charlier who reports this anecdote.
(...)
Fatiman is, if it was, a muslim name, which curiously emerges at the very heart of this ceremony." (6)

Then Charles Najman followed in 1995, also declaring, without proving it, that Cécile Fatiman had a muslim name :

"Cécile Fatiman, a mambo whose history is linked by tradition to Boukman, also bore a muslim name. She emerges by Boukman's side in the heart of the Bois Caïman ceremony by slaughtering an animal dedicated to the gods of Africa. Wife of Louis-Michel Pierrot, who commanded an indigenous battalion at Vertières, Cécile Fatiman, a mulatto with green eyes and long black hair, was the daughter of an African and a Corsican prince. She lived in Cape [Haitian] until the age of 112..." (7)

Three years later, in 1998, Sylviane Diouf, the Senegalese, had the audacity to change the name of "Fatiman" into "Fatima", in order to make it coincide with the name of one of Mohamed's daughter :

"In addition to Boukman, there was a woman who has been described as a mambo (voodoo priestess) at Bois-Caïman. Her name was Cecile Fatiman and she later became the wife of a president of Haiti. Her mother was an African and her father a Corsican. It is probable that her second name was Fatima, like that of Muhammad's favorite daughter, and she may have been a Muslim." (8)

And if we are to believe the revisionists, the name "Fatiman" could only come from African islam. However, the most rudimentary research reveals that the surname "Fatiman" belonged to the Western and French linguistic corpus, centuries before the implantation of the slave trade. It was the name of the nephew of Almanzor, that is to say Al Mansûr, the conqueror of the Iberian Peninsula from the year 978 to 1002 :

 "Near her bower the Countess Julia

By the evening twilight strays,

Fatiman, Almansor's nephew

Captures there the blooming maid." (9)

In other words, Westerners knew the Fatiman name more than eight centuries before the ceremony of Bois Caïman, or more than 3 centuries before the said discovery of America by the Spaniards.


Fatiman in Western literature
For centuries, many Western literary works have featured characters named Fatiman. This following example comes from a 1696 comedy stage play, meaning 95 years prior to the Bois Caïman ceremony of 1791.

Langlois Antoine Jacob Montfleury. Le Mary Sans Femme ou D. Brusquin Dalvarage, comédie en cinq actes. La Haye, 1696.

Fatiman is the main character of this popular play :

 Translation :

"CHARACTERS

D. BRUSQUIN Dalavare : Spanish Gentleman

(...)

FATIMAN : Governor of Algiers.

(...)

The Scene is in Algiers.

Preparations for the Marriage of

Célime & de Fatiman, make

way for Entrances, which separate
the acts"  

This play, "Le Mary Sans Femme ou D. Brusquin Dalvarage", has repeatedly been translated and re-edited, which helped the name "Fatiman" spread in Europe and the slave colonies including Saint Domingue (Haiti), where it was given to captives without them being islamized.

3- The Fatiman first name in the colony

According to the revisionists, Cécile Fatiman was a mulatto born in muslim Africa. But the historical facts reveal that the use of "Fatiman" in the colony, either as a first name or a surname was not a sign of islam. On the contrary, "Fatiman" was as common or christian as "Apollon" or "Julien". And as such, the colonists named their captives "Fatiman" regardless of the ethnic origin of such captives, or their contact, if any, with islam.

Our first spotting of "Fatiman" comes from the prison registers of Port-au-Prince on April 26, 1783, 8 years before the Bois Caïman ceremony :

Translation :

"In Port-au-Prince, on the 9th of this month, Fatiman, says to belonging to the so-called Jean-François Lilavois, M.L. [Free Mulatto] in this city." (10)

If the ethnic origin of this "Fatiman" was not provided, it leaves us to think that he was a Creole (therefore of a captive born in the colony). For Creole was the neutral or default ethnic group in Saint Domingue. Otherwise, an effort would have been made to specify his foreign origin.

But a year later, still in Port-au-Prince, we found, in the prison registers of April 17, 1784, a Mandingo captive named "Fatiman" :

Translation :

"In Port-au-Prince, on the 2th of this month, Fatiman, Mandingo stamped AUTURO, underneath JACMEL, as far as could de distinguished, unable say his name nor that of his master." (11)

Was this "Fatiman" islamized because being a Mandingo? Not necessarily, since islamity, among the Mandingoes, varied according to the individuals and their origins. Moreover, there still exist traditional Mandingoes in the mainland, who are therefore non-muslim. However, the possibility that this particular captive was islamized also exists.
What is certain is that in 1784, 7 years before Bois Caïman, this Mandingo captive "unable to say his name" (which suggests that the name "Fatiman" was attributed to him by his jailers), "nor that of his master", was not politicized to the point of being automatically made the leader of all the ethnic groups ; as the revisionists claim.

Moreover, five years later, again in Port-au-Prince, in June 1789, we found this ad proving that "Fatiman" was randomly assigned to the captives. That ad displays a Mandingo captive carrying, in "Narcisse", a christian name, probably sharing the same cell with a Coulango called "Fatiman" :

Translation :

"On the 19th, Narcisse, Mandingo, stamped BREVILIER, as far as could be distinguished, claiming to belong to M. Buzez, at Arcahaye: on the 20th, Fatiman, Coulango, without apparent stamp, having marks of his country on his face and on his back, saying he belonged to Mr. Henry, not being able to say his dwelling." (12)

This "Fatiman" of Coulango ethnicity (also called Colango, Coulingo or Coulongue in Saint Domingue, in reference to Loango, the capital city of the Loango Kingdom (1550-1883), north of the Congo-Angola Kingdom) was not islamized due to hailing from the Central "African" West coast.

Source : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loango_%28R%C3%A9publique_du_Congo%29

Coming from Loango (a city in present day Republic of Congo), he was then, due to prolonged contact with the Portuguese, more exposed to Catholicism than to islam. For the latter religion was known only to Central-Eastern Congo through the Swahili linking Central Congo to Eastern "Africa".
 

Fateman name given to a Bambara captive (non-muslim)
There were also a Bambara captive bearing the name of Fateman. That shows the banality of this name in Saint Domingue. Especially since the Bambara are a Mandinka language people known for having rejected islamic conversion :

Translation :

"In Port-au-Prince, on the 27th of last month, (...) & Fateman, Bambara nation, red-skinned, without apparent stamp, saying to belong to Poncette, free Mulatto woman." (13)

Fatime or Fatmé, first name of a Meseurade captive (non-muslim)

It would be quite difficult for anyone to maintain the notion that "Fatiman" was extremely rare as a forename in the colony, since we even found the name "Fatime", sometimes allocated to a Congo, sometimes to an Ibo, and other times to a Meseurade. Such a wide distribution goes a long way demonstrating the banality of this surname in the colony.
For example, on May 11, 1785, this runaway ad mentions a captive bearing two first-names: Eugénie and Fatime. This 20-year-old woman is described as being of Meseurade ethnicity, therefore, originating from Cape Mesurado (Near Monrovia, Liberia's capital) :

Translation :

"A negress named Eugenie & Fatime, Meseurade, stamped DE CLERVILLE, about twenty years old, of small stature, and very black of skin, has been marooning for 18 days. Those who are acquainted with her, are requested to have her arrested and sent back to Madame. Clairville, actress attached to the Spectacle du Cap." (14)

Translation :

"Eugénie Fatmé, Meuserade, stamped DE CLERVILLE on the left breast, belonging to M. Regnaut, Master of Music at Le Cap, for having acquired her of widow Madame Clairville, by Act to the report of Sir Maureau and his associate. Notaries. Those who are acquainted with her are requested to give notice thereof to the said Regnault, to whom she belongs. There will be a two Portuguese reward." (15)

It should be noted that this Liberian area of Cape Mesurado wasn't islamized but traditionalist - with the exception of some Mandinka speaking Vai and Kpelle groups established all around, and to which this Meuserade or Meseurade captive known as Eugénie, Fatime or Fatmé may well have belonged.
Can also be pointed out that this group called Meuserade in Saint Domingue and throughout French Americas, was also known as Canga. Far from constituting the name of a Liberian ethnic group, Canga designates "slave" in Baoulé language. And "orphan" is its synonym. This connection between the words "slave" and "orphan" allows us to establish an "African" origin to the dishonorable practice called "Restavèk", that is to say, the domestic serfdom of disinherited children in Haiti.

Fatime, first name of a Congo woman (non-muslim)

Here, we have a Congo captive, from predominantly traditionalist or catholic background, been attributed "Fatime" as first name :

Translation :

"In Port-au-Prince, on the 30th of last month, Fatime, Congo, without stamp, having her country's markings on both breasts, aged 30, size 5 feet, which said to belong to Mr. Macassée, At the Petit-Goave." (16)

Fatime, first name of an Ibo woman (non-muslim)
This time, it's an Ibo, coming from traditionalist Southern Nigeria, that has been called Fatime :

Translation :

"At Fort-Dauphin (...) On the 18th, Fatime, Ibo nation, 24 years old, stamped on the left breast GRA and other letters illegible, having marks of her country." (17)

These examples demonstrate that several variants of "Fatiman", namely "Fateman", "Fatime", "Fatmé", etc. circulated in the colony; for men as well as for women, for "Africans" as much as for Creoles. Which means that this name, in the Saint Domingue colony, had no religious attachment. And had an even less of an islamic attachment. Although some islamized captives might have retained this name in parallel with their newly-given christian names.

4- Origin of the name "Fatiman" of Cécile

Since Cécile Fatiman was a mulatto, from a Corsican father, the revisionists then shimmer on the "African" origin of her mother as a token of islamic ties. But they have it all wrong. For Cécile's mother was not named Fatiman, but Célestina Coidavid, a name known in Saint Domingue. As evidence, here's the State of Military Service of a certain Jacques Coidavie, (a variant of Coidavid) former sergeant of militia, who became brigadier in charge of the 2nd regiment of free troops. He was born in Saint Domingue (Cap Français) in 1737.

Source : http://anom.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/ark:/61561/up424souuuy

"Coidavie"'s Military Service State hints at the possibility that Célestina Coidavid, Cécile Fatiman's mother, could have settled in the colony sooner than commonly thought. Or at least, she could have as easily come from a Caribbean island such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, and so on. And when we consider that Cécile was the sole Célestina Coidavid's offspring to bear the name (or first name) of Fatiman, then we must turn towards her paternal side for her name's origin.

"Fatiman" and the Corsican royal filiation
Few people know that Corsica, constantly under foreign powers' influence, had, from 1736 to 1738, briefly endowed itself with a King. If indeed Cécile Fatiman came from a Corsican prince, then it can only from that lineage. This brief Corsican King was called Theodore-Stephan Neuhoff. He was a Baron by birth, and he was, as they like to say, a German adventurer who had settled in Corsica in quest of fortune and glory. Corsica then in conflict with Genoa (Italy) on which it depended, found in Theodore Neuhoff, full of military resources, the key to its sovereignty. And having received ammunition from Tunisia, Baron Theodore, according to this Genoese manifesto, made a triumphal entry into Corsica, "dressed as a Turk" :

"We, Doge, Governors, and Procurators of the Genoa Republic. etc, etc.
We learned that a certain notorious character dressed as a Turk, landed in our Kingdom of Corsica on the side of Aleria, where he had gone with some War Munitions aboard a small ship, commanded by Captain Dick, English..." (18)

  

Source : Ernest d'Hervilly, (Dessin d'Henri Pille). Héros légendaires : Leur véritable histoire. Paris, 1889.

In spite of his middle-eastern accoutrements, Baron Theodore was indeed of christian faith. And it was from a Corsican Catholic kingdom that he became King, on April 15, 1736, under the regal name of Theodore I :

Translation :

"CAPITULATION OF KING THEODORE

In the name and glory of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Protector of this Kingdom, and of the Holy Devote, Advocate of the same Kingdom.

Today Sunday 15th April 1736. The Kingdom of Corsica having formed a General Assembly legally responded and summoned by order of the magnificent Generals Hiacinthe de Paoli and Louis Giafferi in the place named Alesani after a long and mature discussion that the Principals of the Kingdom have made among themselves, the Peoples have determined and ruled, as they determine and rule, to elect a King and live under him, and they have received, acclaimed and accepted for their King the Lord THEODORE..." (19)

Since he has maintained a close relationship with muslim rulers, it is not unthinkable that Theodore was exposed to the first name "Fatima".* Thus, Cécile Fatiman, who is said to have come from a "Corsican Prince", and therefore from a descendant of Theodore, could have received this muslim-sounding name, in memory of Theodore's passage to the throne, thanks to muslim support. That's what we initially thought. But it wasn't so.

The following excerpt proves that the name of Cécile Fatiman does not derive from "Fatima" but rather from "Attiman", the name of one of Theodore I's christian companions :

"Nous avons jugé à propos de les informer de la véritable qualité et condition de cet Homme, conformement aux preuves et témoignages authentiques que Nous en avons.
Il tire son Origine d'un Cantan de la Westphale, et se fait nommer le Baron Théodore de Neuhoff. (...) En Corse il se fait appeler Théodore.

(...)

Translation :

"We have thought fit to inform them of the true quality and condition of this Man, in conformity with the authentic evidence and testimony we have of Him.
He draws his Origin from a Westphalia Cantan, and goes by the name of Baron Theodore of Neuhoff. (...) In Corsica he was called Theodore.

(...)

He then went to Tunis, where he practiced Medicine and held several secret conferences with the leaders of the [muslim] Infidels. He learned how to draw arms and munitions of war with which he traveled to Corsica, accompanied by Christoffaro, brother doctor Buongiorni in Tunis, along with three Turks, among whom is a certain Mahomet, who was once a slave on The Galleys of Tuscany; along with two young men from Livorno, Attiman and Bondelli, fugitives from their paternal houses, and a priest from Porto-Ferraio, whom the Missionary Fathers of Tunis thought fit to remove for just reasons.

(...)

Done in our Royal Palace on May 9, 1736.

Guiseppe Maria." (20)

The information contained in this Genoese manifesto is of great value. Alarmed by the loss of its Corsican protectorate, Genoa became well informed on Theodore, his rival, as well as on the identity of his accomplices. The Genoese senate published this manifesto on May 9, 1736, that is to say, less than a month after Theodore took the throne on April 15th, 1736. And this manifesto presented, as Theodore's companions, both muslims (of whom one or two were named Mahomet (Mohammed)), and christians (including a catholic priest). The name "Attiman" was also presented. Was he a christian or a muslim? His full name says plenty about his provenance and his faith. His name was Gregorio Attiman :

"The number and miscellaneous nature ot those Neuhoff recruited for his expedition attest to his powerful charisma. Dr. Buongiorno's younger brother, Christoforo, was one of them. There were two young men from Leghorn [Livorno] called Gregorio Attiman and Antonio Bondelli, who were said by the Genoese edict to be runaways from home (then a grave charge), and three Turks named Salla, Mahomet, and Montecristo." (21)

So this young Gregorio Attiman was a christian who, like his friend Antonio Bondelli, served as a page or valet to Theodore. (22) He was born in Livorno (Leghorn), an Italian port city adjacent to the island of Corsica :

Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livorno

In summary, the Corsican documents show that Cécile was not really called Fatiman. Her name was rather Cécile Attiman, in reference to Gregorio Attiman. It is quite possible that this heroine's full name was Cécile Attiman Coidavid, and that "Attiman" served as her middle name, as was customary in her time. A deformation of "Attiman" into "Fatiman" seems to have taken place. And this may have come from one of three sources: 1) from the descendants of Theodore, one of whom may have transmitted this deformation to Célestina Coidavid, Cécile Fatiman's mother; 2) or, over time, from Cécile's Haitian offspring, who relie on orality as a mean of genealogical conservation ; 3) or, given that no text attests "Fatiman" prior to 1954, from a bad reception on the part of Étienne D. Charlier, during his interview with old General Rameau mumbling "Fatiman" as the name of his great-grandmother ; Unless Charlier, as a Haitian intellectual, had the arrogant reflex to correct "Attiman", that Rameau said, into "Fatiman" which would have seemed more probable to him.
 

Is the Corsican royal filiation real?

Let us analyze various avenues in order to detect the truth about Cécile Fatiman's so-called Corsican filiation :

A) A tangible trail comes from England where Theodore, ex-King, died exiled in 1756. Two years later, in 1758, Colonel Felice Frederick, known as Neuhoff (1725-1796 / 97), presented himself as Theodore's natural son. The strong majority of his contemporaries believe him. While some historians take him either for a Polish usurper, or for Theodore's nephew.

The important point here is that Frederick viewed himself seriously as a prince, and he had a daughter by the name of Elisabeth, who was the mother of novelist Emily Clarke (1778-1833), publicly recognized as the descendant of Colonel Frederick, son of Theodore :

 "Ianthé ; or the Flower of Caernarvon. Dedicated to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. By Emily Clarke, Grand-daughter of the late Colonel Frederick, Son of Theodore, King of Corsica." (23)

Similarly, Frederick had "a son (killed, still young, during the American War)" [1775-1783]. (24) And this military son, Elisabeth's brother and Emily Clarke's uncle, believing himself a Corsican prince, may well have had a relationship with Célestina Coidavid, Cécile Fatiman's mother, in America. On this point, the dates coincide :

1. Baron Théodore-Stephan Neuhoff was born in 1690, was King from 1736 to 1738 and died in 1756.
2. Frederick Neuhoff, calling himself his son and Prince, was born in 1725, and died in 1796/1797.
3. Therefore, at the age of 50, Frederick could have been grandfather in 1775, Cécile Fatiman's birthdate ; knowing that his legitimate son, a soldier, was in America around 1775; And probably prior.

The city of Charleston, close to Boston, seems to be the meeting place of Cécile Fatiman's parents. For it is asserted that, handsome, young, and intelligent, Frederick Neuhoff's son served in the ranks of General Howe, who, very much impressed, made him lieutenant :

"He was introduced by Sir John Dryden, Bart., then an officer in the guards, to Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, who was exceedingly kind to him, and actually purchased a commission for him. On his arrival in America he was noticed by General Howe, then Commander-in-chief, and advanced to the rank of lieutenant but he was soon cut off during the war." (25) 

Indeed, on June 17, 1775, 19 of General Howe's Lieutenants perished during the murderous battle of Bunker Hill in Charleston. The name of Frederick's son (with a lady of honor of the German Empress Marie Thérèse, The Great) is not available, thus, his identification on the list of killed officers proves to be hazardous. However, miraculously, 1775 connects both the battle of Bunker Hill and Cécile Fatiman's birth outside of the Saint Domingue colony.

B) Corsica, before being annexed to France, was traditionally populated by Italians. And here, we've found a higher than average number of Italian-sounding first names in Cécile Fatiman's family ; which slightly supports the Corsican hypothesis :

• Célestina Coidavid (Mother of Cécile Fatiman)

1. Cécile Pierrot, née Fatiman (Attiman)
2. Noele Coidavid, known as Prince Noele (Brother)
3. Louisa Geneviève Pierrot, née Melgrin (Sister)
4. Marie-Louisa Henry, née Coidavid-Melgrin, Queen Marie-Louise (Sister)
5. Jean-Bernadine Sprew, knwon as Prince Jean (Brother)

C) This royal Corsican filiation, whether true or not, is of little importance to us. What matters is that it was taken seriously by both Frederick Neuhoff's and Cécile Fatiman families. A comparison of the vestimentary style found in the portrait of Theodore, King of Corsica, and in that of Henry, King of Haiti, allows us to foresee the preservation of this filiation. We attribute the results to the influence of Queen Marie-Louisa Coidavid-Melgrin, Cécile Fatiman's younger sister, on Henry, her Sovereign husband.

Let's first observe Theodore I's posture, the star-flower on his heart, the cane he holds - without neglecting the "Moor's head" symbolizing the muslim passage in Corsica : 

Source : André Le Glay. Théodore de Neuhoff, roi de Corse, Paris, 1907.

In Henry's portrait we find a posture similar to that of Theodore I - as far as the hand on the back is concerned - and then a similar star-flower on the heart, accompanied by a cane. Even the apparent painting in the background reinforces the similarity :

Source : King Henry's official portrait by Richard Evans. 1815.  

This resemblance in the two Sovereigns' accoutrements, to the rear position of the hand, suggests the influence of the Coidavid family - having a link with a Corsican prince - on the Haitian King. The similarity could easily be classified as purely coincidental, if other elements, such as the following, didn't add to it.

D) Following the fall of Henry's Kingdom in 1820, the Queen and her two princesses, having been saved, were previously received in England where the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, great correspondent of the late King, took care of their accommodation. However, on September 14, 1824, they chose to settle in Italy - instead, we think, of Corsica then French. The Haitian kingdom having been hostile to France, the Henrys would certainly not have been welcome there :

"Christophe, indeed, could not have had a more loyal friend than Clarkson or one more willing to succor and advise his bereaved and unhappy family. The last letter in this collection, dated September 13, 1824, was written by the three Christophes on the eve of their departure for Italy and forms a fitting conclusion to this Haitian story." (26)

Moreover, following the successive deaths of her princesses, the Queen, in 1841, asked then Haitian President Boyer to allow "Madame Pierrot", her sister Louisa Geneviève (second wife of Jean-Louis Pierrot), to come and keep her company in Italy :

Translation :

"Madame Christophe [the Queen], on her part, informed him of her happy arrival, and told him that the reception which had been made to her had been most agreeable.
General Vincent, who was in Paris, hastened to them, and overwhelmed them with attentions and friendship. He soon took them to Florence in Italy, where they settled. The two princesses died successively twenty years after their arrival in Europe. Their mother went to live in Pisa, where she died a dozen years later. She had sent for Madame Pierrot, her sister, after the two princesses deaths. Mrs. Christophe and Mrs. Pierrot were from Le Cap's Coidavid family, free before the revolution." (27)

The Queen's request was accepted. But it was not until the end of the Jean-Louis Pierrot presidency in 1846, that a year later, in December 1847, Madame Pierrot joined his sister in Italy, while President Pierrot was in exile in Jamaica. It was indeed Marie Louisa Geneviève Coidavid who travelled to Italy, (28) and not her older sister Cécile Fatiman who was previously "Madame Pierrot".
Thus, four members of the Coidavid family lived in Italy. England would have been a more logical choice of residence, language wise, when it is known that King Henry, being a native of Grenada, spoke English, and that English was taught, via American tutors, to the princesses. But, according to Beaubrun Ardouin, (29) England's humid weather displeased them. Nevertheless, the Corsican, and therefore Italian, family link may have played a role in their choice of final residence. It is also necessary to specify, the Catholic burial of the Queen, as ultimate proof of the non-islamity of the free Coidavid family to which Cécile Fatiman was part :

"Marie-Louise of Haiti died on a fresh March 1851 evening, in her Italian castle. The queen was buried in the little chapel of the Capuchin convent in Pisa, where she still rests beside her two daughters, princesses Améthyste and Athénaïs." (30)

5- Cécile Fatiman's non exposure to islam

In 2009, Susan Buck-Morss, a renowned revisionist, claimed, without evidence, that Cécile Fatiman was born and raised as a muslim :

"But what if you learn that Boukman, born in English-speaking Jamaica, was named Boukman -Bookman- because he was literate and could read the Book, but that the Book was not the Bible? What if the facts indicate that Boukman, the huge black man who spoke these celebratory words at Bois Caïman : "listen to the voice of liberty which speaks in the hearts of us all." who inspired armed insurrection against the slave masters, was born and raised a Muslim - as were between 4 and 14 percent of all Africans who made the Atlantic crossing**: as was the priestess Fatiman -Fatima- who presided over the so-named Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman: as was the slave Makandal,*** their maroon rebel predecessor, whose hand had been amputated as a consequence of slavery, and who was accused in the colonial courts of plotting to poison the families of planters in Saint-Domingue in the 1750s and burned at the stake (the Christian punishment for heresy)?" (31)

This revisionist, like so many others, insinuated that Cécile Fatiman was born in Africa where she would have been exposed to the muslim cult. This is false. For if General Rameau identified Cécile Fatiman's mother Célestina Coidavid as being born in "Africa", he did not say the same for Célestina's daughter Cécile Fatiman. And since the latter was a mulatto - hence born from the encounter of a Black and a White - the probability that she was born in "Africa" ​​is extremely weak; Especially because she was not born of a rape on a slave ship. For her father's identity, although vaguely known, was known nevertheless, and even admired.
General Rameau's account informs us that the mother comes from elsewhere. We think, the fact that she was an "African", does not guarantee that she came directly from "Africa". The facts indicate that Célestina Coidavid lived in America, near Charleston, Massachusetts, where she met Cécile Fatiman's father, that is to say, the "Corsican Prince", the Lieutenant in General Howe's troops, Theodore I's grandson.
According to General Rameau, Célestina Coidavid arrived with Cécile Fatiman in Saint Domingue. To dismiss the hypothesis of Cécile's islamic exposure prior to her Saint Domingue arrival, one must take her arrival age into account. The narrative does not specify it. However, the genealogy of the Coidavid family allows us to establish with accuracy the later possible date of Cécile Fatiman's arrival. To do this, one simply needs to have a look at the birth dates of Célestina Coidavid's other children who were born in Saint Domingue. These dates of birth therefore place Célestina in the colony at verifiable moments. And by the way, we can place Cécile Fatiman in the colony on those same dates, because she arrived there with her mother.


Célestina Coidavid (Cécile Fatiman's mother, born in "Africa") had children with :

• + Corsican Prince (Grandson of Théodore Neuhoff???)

1. Cécile Pierrot, née Fatiman (or Attiman) - born in 1775 outside of Saint Domingue, in an unknown colony - died on January 1883 in Cap-Haïtien - at the age of 108, not 112); Married Louis Michel Pierrot, future president of Haiti

+ Melgrin (owner of the La Couronne hotel in Cap Français)

1. Marie-Louisa Henry, née Coidavid-Melgrin, Her Majesty the Queen Marie-Louise Henry (sister) (8 May 1778, Ouanaminthe, Bredou Estate, Saint Domingue - March 14, 1851, Pisa, Italy)  
   
   Source: Almanach Royal d'Hayti 1820. Sans-Soucy, 1820. p.1.
2. Louisa Geneviève Pierrot, née Melgrin (sister) (birthdate unknown): Also married to Louis Michel Pierrot, following his marriage to Cécile Fatiman 

• + Sprew

1.  Jean-Bernadine Sprew, known as Prince Jean (brother) (October 17, 1780 - October 10, 1820)

• + Name of father unknown

1. Noele Coidavid, known as Prince Noele (Brother) (September 10, 1784 - August 25, 1818)
   
   Source: Almanach Royal d'Hayti 1816. Cap-Henry, 1816. p.1.

What emerges from this table is that there was only a 3-year gap between Cécile Fatiman (born in 1775) and her younger sister Marie-Louisa Coidavid-Melgrin, the future queen (born in 1778). This discrepancy allows us to conclude that their mother, Célestina Coidavid, was in Saint Domingue in 1777 at the latest. Because, it was the minimum interval required for her to meet Mr. Melgrin, the owner of Cap-Français' La Couronne hotel ; leading her to give birth to Queen Marie-Louisa in May 1778. And when the unknown date of birth of Louisa Geneviève Melgrin, Cécile Fatiman's other younger sister, is taken into account, mother Célestina Coidavid may well have settled in Saint Domingue prior to 1777. So, we can say that Cécile Fatiman landed in Saint Domingue before the age of 3. Thus, the islamic level of her country of birth is of little importance, since she left her native land still as an infant. Aged less than 3, on her arrival in Saint Domingue, little Cécile Fatiman was far too young to absorb any religious doctrine whatsoever. So therefore, we only need to scrutinize the religious behavior of his brothers and sisters born and raised in Saint Domingue, in order to detect whether Cécile Fatiman's family was muslim or not.

The Coidavid family, Power and Syncretic Christianity

Queen Marie-Louisa, Cécile Fatiman's younger sister, was officially Catholic. Her husband, King Henry had a certain penchant for the Anglican religion - perhaps a vestige of his Caribbean Anglophone origin. A tangible proof of the Queen's non-islamity, and consequently that of the Coidavid family, which includes Cécile Fatiman, is the church of Sans Souci, built for her coronation on June 2, 1811, directly at the foot of her palace.

Source : Rodney Salnave, Milot, Sans Souci, 1999.

In addition, the Almanach Royal d'Hayti (Royal Almanac of Hayti) illustrated the maintenance in the Kingdom (1811-1820) of all Catholic festivals :

Were similarly maintained, various parishes and their respective patron festivals :

 Now, no mention was made of any islamic festivals or calendar.

The Case of General Pierrot (Cécile Fatiman's ex-husband) & ancestral worship

General Jean-Louis Michel Pierrot's implication in the early hours of the struggle for emancipation will serve as evidence of the impossibility for the Haitian Revolution to be islamic. Pierrot was born at L'Acul du Nord (Camp-Louise, to be more precise), the epicenter of the Haitian Revolution. And of this geographical connection, he therefore rubbed shoulders with the first plotters such as Jean-François, Boukman, Jean-Jacques (des Manquets) and Auguste. And, in all likelihood, he participated in pre-revolutionary meetings where, we speculate, he could have met his future wife, Cécile Fatiman.

Now, if Cécile Fatiman was a muslim, her influence would have - or at least that of her sister Louisa-Geneviève, who married Pierrot after her - certainly, resulted in Pierrot's hostile attitude towards ancestral religion. As a president, unlike Guerrier, his predecessor, nor Riché, his successor, Pierrot showed great affection for the traditional religion :

Translation :

"Quiet under Guerrier, emboldened under Pierrot, concealing itself under Riché, the African choirs which perpetuate the tradition had given themselves at their ease since the accession of Soulouque, for Soulouque belongs to the vaudoux, and these words are the sacramental hymn of vaudoux." (32)

We will not dwell on the fact that Riché, Pierrot's successor, "was the great enemy of all superstitious sects. He vigorously pursued those who practiced the "voodoo" ceremonies and dances". (33) Nor will we linger on the fact that Soulouque, following Riché, was the only Haitian head of state with an established Mandingo origin. But Soulouque was a notorious practitioner of ancestral worship, in the very heart of his imperial palace. Proof that the Mandingoes were far from the muslims whom the revisionists claim. It will be discussed in more depth in an upcoming article on Haitian Mandingoes.
Moreover, Pierrot's tolerance for his ancestral cult could be explained by the fact that he was a Houngan, a great officiant of ancestral worship :

"After the great houn'gan of the national epic : Boukman, Biassou, Makandal, Pierrot, comes the famous Antoine Lan Gommier but in a time much closer to us." (34)

In addition, according to Milo Rigaud, Pierrot was not only a great Houngan, he was  among those who had practiced an orthodox and  pure "voudoo" tradition :

"Consequently, the supernatural gifts conferred by the loa-ancestors : to the initiates of the voudoo cult, are fleeing or getting diminished in magical power ; because, faced with such faults against the orthodox tradition of Toussaint, Rose Rigaud, Antoine Lan Gommier, Pierrot, the manes get angry and gradually retreat to Africa, abandoning the Haitian to himself. Thus, a houn'gan or a mam'bo sometimes loses his or her powers, even falls ill and, without very rigid sacrifices, is unable to escape the abyss into which the mysteries made him or her descent !" (35)

So Pierrot, as Houngan, would have had a spiritual and revolutionary affinity with his wife Cécile Fatiman, a Manbo or a great official of the Haitian ancestral religion. And these passages of Milo Rigaud affirming that Pierrot was a Houngan are most pertinent, since, published in 1953, they preceded by a year the text of Étienne D. Charlier (1954) which revealed Cécile Fatiman as the Manbo in Bois Caiman. Thus, Milo Rigaud cannot be accused of associating President Pierrot with "voudoo" because of his wife's participation in Bois Caïman, since the author was unaware of the role of the latter at the time of writing His work. And besides, Milo Rigaud, describing on pages 60 and 61, the Bois Caiman ceremony, did not allude to Cécile Fatiman, Louis-Michel Pierrot's first wife. He only cited the Manuel d'Histoire d'Haïti (J.C. Dorsainvil & F.l.C. P-A-P, 1934, p.78) that speak of the old priestess officiating at the said ceremony.

Nord Alexis' government and ancestral worship

Pierre Nord Alexis, King Henry's grandson from an out-of-wedlock liaison, was Haiti's president from 1902 to 1908. He married Marie-Louise Amélie Célestina Pierrot, called "Cécé", daughter of Cécile Fatiman and Jean-Louis Michel Pierrot.+ And again, nothing in Nord Alexis' government indicates a certain inclination for islam ; On the contrary, traditional religion was favored by the latter :

"Nord Alexis was over 80 when he came to power. This old man had at heart two passions : ancestors worship and concern for national independence." (36)

His concern for ancestral religion was such that one of his detractors called him "the grand pontiff of Vodouism " :

"Several presidents were known for their associations with Vodou temples, including Nord Alexis (1902-8), who was denounced by Alcius Charmant as the "grand pontife du vaudouisme ("the grand pontiff of Vodouism,"..." (37)

Thus, through the political and religious preferences of several generations of leaders from Cécile Fatiman's family, we find a constant adherence to ancestral tradition, an action incompatible with muslim monotheism. Cécé, the daughter of Cécile Fatiman and wife of President Nord Alexis is a blazing example of that.

Cécé, Marie Louise Amélie Pierrot, Cécile Fatiman's daughter and ancestral worship

Mrs Nord Alexis, Marie-Louise Amélie Célestina Pierrot, known as Cécé, like her mother Cécile Fatiman, was recognized as a Manbo or a high dignitary of the traditional worship. In his report, this French diplomat in Haiti made mention of it while Cécé was still living :

"He [Nord Alexis] is said to be husband of an ambitious vodou priestess." (Transl.) (38)

Then 3 days after Cécé's death, the Haitian newspaper Le Matin of October 15, 1908, underlined the "occult support" that Cécé had provided her husband Nord Alexis whose presidency was constantly threatened :
 

Translation :

"Passing of the revered Cécé.

Massive funerals are made to Mrs. Nord Alexis on October 12th. Cécé is dead, uncle Nord has lost his occult support. The end is near." (39)

Stephen Bonsal, a white supremacist American author also spread the fact that Cécé, Mrs Nord Alexis was an officiant of the traditional religion. (40) This shady New York Times journalist took the opportunity to slander the Republic of Haiti, the traditional religion, Cécé and Nord Alexis. His racist nonsense, based on what he admitted to be hearsay, however, later served as a basis for the US occupation of Haiti in 1915, (41) that is 7 years after Cécé's death.

But be that as it may, Marie Louise Amélie Pierrot, known as Mrs Nord Alexis or Cécé, is an immortal. The divinatory talent of this Manbo and influential first lady of Haiti is immortalized in the expression "Sese te di…" (Cécé has said…), found in many traditional and folk songs.

6- Women in the Haitian Revolution

In 2000, the revisionist Jafrikayiti doubted that Cécile Fatiman was Manbo, insinuating that she was a Woman-Imam or a Woman-Iman : 

"Historians report how a religious ceremony took place right away. A Mambo named Cécile Fatiman, wife of Louis Michel Pierrot, who later became Haiti's President, would officiate. Dress in all white, Mambo Fatiman killed a pig and shared its warm blood to every African in the circle. From this communion, they swore to follow Bookman's orders and rebel for freedom.
(...)
Whether he was a Houngan or a Muslim, this African's speech would have extraordinary consequences for me and you, offspring of Bookman, Makandal and Fatiman.
Before going further, let's underline two interesting questions about the potential role of various religions in this historic event:
1) Fatiman is a popular name in Muslim African countries. According to historian Jean Fouchard: Cécile Fatiman, the Mambo at Bwa Kay Iman (The House in the Woods Where Iman lives) was a Mulatto woman, daughter of a African Negress and a white prince from Corsica. Was Fatiman a Vodou practitioner and a Muslim, the same way many Africans become both Christian Catholics and Vodou practitioners? We do not know!
2) In the area of Bwa Kay Iman (The House in the Woods Where Iman lives) there isn't and there seems to never had animals called Cayman. So, it seems that this word isn't use in reference to the animal. According to some researchers, this (location) name seems to have originated from Boukman's presence or that of Fatiman in the area (Iman in the Islamic religion is a religious leader, as is a Oungan/Mambo in Vodoun). Thus , Bwa Kay Iman might mean Near the Imann's House or The Imann's House in the Woods." (42) 

That this revisionist chose to change "Kayiman" into "Kay Iman", knowing full well that an islamic spiritual leader is called "Imam" and not "Iman", in the same way as they say "Islam" and not "Islan" - is okay by us. That the revisionist in question took the liberty to speculate on Saint Domingue's wildlife, without carrying out an in-depth study on the subject - is still okay. (See our article on the common use of "Bwa Kayiman" in plant names) Also, that the revisionist quotes Jean Fouchard in such a way as to make believe that he recognized Cécile Fatiman as "the Mambo of Bwa Kay Iman (The House in the Woods Where Iman lives)", whereas Fouchard++ never spoke of Cécile Fatiman specifically, other than to quote the Charlier text referring to her - again, is okay. But that Jafrikayiti deliberately chose to ignore that in misogynist islam, a woman cannot be a spiritual leader or an Imam, exceeds the limits of what is acceptable. The extent of this falsification from the Haitian intellectual is unprecedented, since the Haitian Revolution is above all a woman Revolution. For without the action of the Saint Domingue woman (now Haitian), this Revolution would have never reached the insurrection threshold. And never, ever, would have succeeded.
And to even insinuate that one of this Revolution's leaders might be muslim is an insult on those thousands of Saint Domingue women who have braved the most barbaric tortures in retaliation for their involvement in this Negro Revolution ; Not Arab, Muslim or Arabized, Negro. And whoever mentions Negro, mentions the ancestral religion.

And this Haitian ancestral religion is primarily a woman religion. The only religion where the feminine prevails over the masculine, for in rituals, when addressing "women", this includes men. But the opposite never happens, since we never address the "men" as such, on any occasion. And let no one be mistaken. This Tradition having furnished the only successful Revolution of people in captivity, is unique on earth. Not in "Africa" ​​or in the Black Americas, is there a religion in which woman is the equal of man in every respect. It is this religion with the understanding going beyond the sex, which counts Cécile Fatiman among its own. And this heroine was not unique. She was only a revolutionary woman among thousands of others who had worked in every subversive sphere imaginable.

A- The women maroons

To speak of the islamity of Bois Caïman and the Haitian Revolution, based on the resonance of Cécile Fatiman's name, is to think that she was the only woman of importance in that Revolution. This was far from being the case. Cécile Fatiman was but one link in a long line of great revolutionary ladies. Marronnage was the first mesh, the first high impact weapon of the resistance. And on this point, women didn't stand on the sidelines. Like men, they often risked everything in order to escape hellish slavery and thus deprive the unjust system of their labor.
The following runaway ads extracts show a snippet of the horror that was captive women's existence and the punishments they face for running away :

• Gunshot

Translation :

"Jeannette, Creole, stamped on the right breast TUREL, about 30 years old, dangerously wounded on the right arm of a gunshot, claiming to belong to M. Vaidiés, arrested at Grande-Rivière." (43)

• Machete blow

Translation :

"At Port de Paix, on the 18th of the current [month], Vincent of the Ibo nation, stamped illegibly CENAU, having a mark of his country on his face, and several machete strike scars on his body, saying to belong to M. Cenau ; And Marianne of the Mondongue nation, without stamp, having a machete strike scar on her shoulder, doesn't know her master." (44)

•  Cut off wrist

Translation :

"At Le CAP, on the 28th of last month, entered the Jail a Creole Negress, named Marie, stamped on the right breast IB & on the left IP, has the left wrist cut off, she said to belong to Mr. Prats, at Grande-Rivière." (45)

• Cut off ears

Translation :

"On the 4th, Marthe, a Creole from St. Eustace, stamped on the right breast ACAR, above PENTIER, has her ears cut off, claiming to belong to M. Carpentier, Coaster." (46)

• Whip scars

Translation :

"On the 22nd, a new negress, of Quiamba nation, without apparent stamp, bares signs of her country on her face and abdomen, a burning mark on her right cheek, her back full of lashes, pierced ears, About 20 years old, 4 feet 10 inches tall, unable to say the name of her master or her dwelling." (47)

• Sexual abuse on minors

Translation :

"Four negroes and two new negresses, Congo, marooned from the habitation of M. Demons, Residing in Plaisance, from last February 13 to 14, stamped R. DEMONS, to whom they belong, among whom there is a negress without a stamp, short, about 13 to 14 years old, with a low breast, having already had a miscarriage, named Marie, speaking a little French; The second negress named Félicité." (48)

• Work overload

"A Negress, of Thiamba nation, named Brigitte, about 13 or 14 of age, of an ugly figure, and very dirty, with an elongated mouth, very large feet, and unable to raise her left arm, has been maroon since last May 27th : we suppose she could be at Fort Dauphin, or in the neighborhood. Those who will recognize her, are requested to have her arrested, and to give notice thereof to M. Jouenne, on Rue du Cimetiere, at Le Cap : there will be a reward." (49)

• Torture

Translation :

"Pélagie, Sousou, said she belonged to M. Rousseau, who resides at Perches, stamped illegibly on the left breast, with her breasts fallen, her fingers cut off, and her two deformed feet covered with dartres, arrested at Perches." (50)

B- The women poisoners

Long before Cécile Fatiman, there were the women poisoners who terrorized the slave colony of Saint Domingue. From the years 1740 to 1758, several decades before Bois Caïman, existed the era of Macandal and Brigitte. The chief poisoner Macandal has since become a God (Jany, Lwa), and his wife Brigitte, a Goddess (Jany, Lwa) far more venerated.

Brigitte, the Great, the Goddess (Jany, Lwa) of Death

Brigitte, the poisoner, was deified as Grann Brijit (Grandma Brigitte), a Gede, Lwa of Death. As we have said, she was Macandal's wife and accomplice. And according to the Memoir of Judge Courtin who interrogated and condemned them at the stake, far from being muslim, their God was Charlot, also a Gede God (Jany, Lwa) :

"Mercure [one of François Macandal's accomplices] and Brigitte wife of François who agreed to make macandals [Garde-Corps or magic amulets bearing the confectioner's name] that move on the head indicated the same operations, that the magic words were Bondieu (...). This Good God is without doubt Charlot or the Devil, which is unequivocal, as will be seen later." (Transl.) (51)

This necromantic magical practice of Brigitte, Macandal and his associates was for Charlot (Ti Chalo in the modern ritual) was tinged with catholic syncretism. Which is also contrary to islam :

"The composer sorcerer only wraps nails, bones and herbs in a rag with mud and holy water, blessed candle and blessed incense. In saying the magic words, he tightens the whole thing in several turns, puts it in the holy water. There ends his operation." (Transl.) (52)

And like a real Goddess, facing torture and the brazier, Brigitte the Great did not flinch. She retained all her dignity :

"Brigitte, who appeared to speak frankly in the last days of her life, said that the macandal consulted by his servant spoke to him clearly and clearly in his ears, according to his expression, that he said where a maroon negro was, who was the thief of a thing that went missing, the poisoner and the rest.
(...)
Mercure and Brigitte's interrogations have unequivocally revealed to us all the mysteries of the reflective worship which the sorcerers render to the devil.
Brigitte, already condemned, spoke without disguise." (Transl.) (53)

And the location where Brigitte performed her magic-religious services was called "La Caze à Diable" (House of the Devil), proving etymologically false, as we demonstrated in a previous article, the revisionist thesis of "Bwa Kay Iman". For in Northern Saint Domingue, where the Bois Caïman ceremony was held, to designate a House belonging to a certain "Iman", one would have said instead : "Bwa La Caze à Iman" or "Bwa La Caye à Iman" :

"The sorcerers or the so-called sorcerers make the macandals' feast; there is the small and the great. The hut where it is made is called la caze à Diable (House of the Devil), and the ceremony is called faire Diable [Do the Devil], according to the negroes. Proving that the profanations of the holy things which they use are not a continuation of their idiocy, but a true impiety which goes so far as sacrilege." (Transl.) (54)

Moreover, many of Brigitte and Macandal's acolytes frequented Catholic churches. Demonstrating the conformity of their practices with that of the modern Haitian syncretic religion ; and not with islam :

"The negress Marianne who received poisons that Macandal sent her by Brigitte, his wife, received communion every 8 days." (Transl.) (55)

In short, decades prior to the Bois Caïman ceremony and the 1791 general uprising, the ancestral Tradition had already monopolized the anti-slavery resistance. The islam of a handful of captives, never singled out, never criticized, never prohibited by an article of law, was never a factor in the Haitian Revolution. This monotheistic religion is incompatible with Brigitte and Macandal's necromantic Gede rite, nor with the Petro-Lemba rite in which one says "Djab la" (this Devil) or "Djab yo" (these Devils) in reference to some high energy Jany or Lwa - to be differentiated from the God-opposing christian "Devil", a concept that is absent in the ancestral Tradition.

Here is a small sample of the noble lady poisoners who were arrested, tortured, and/or horribly executed in their struggle against christian degradation :

• Kingué (aka Marie Catherine, of Congo nation)
• Assam (of Fulani nation, but had been incited by a free comrade - possibly a Creole - to consult with Jean, the poisoner, in whose house a Bambara - Traditionalist - served as guard ; and traditionalist lady clients, of Nago and Thiamba nations, we found.)
• Marie Jeanne (from Le Cap, of Thiamba nation, from Togo, was Jean the poisoner's client)
• Madeleine (from Le Cap, of Nago nation , was Jean the poisoner's client)
• Lisette (from Fort Dauphin)
• Henriette (poisoned dame Faveroles, was burned alive)
• Geneviève (from Port-Margot)
• Marianne (poisoned Laborte, son of Vatin, was burned alive)
• Madeleine
• Margot
• Angélique
• Agnès
• Venus
• Marie-Jeanne (poisoned Chiron)
• Nanon
• Barbe (freed woman from de Gallais estate)
• Françoise (free)
• Charlotte (from Gabriac, deported to Saint Malo)
• Fanchette and Jeanette (burned, than buried alive, on suspicious of being poisoners)
• Madame Paparet's waitress.
• Lady Lespès' waitress (condemned)
• Mongoubert's waitress (condemned)
• Rodet's Concubine
• Etc.

This following passage from the S. Courtin memoir gives us a glimpse of women poisoners' predominance in Macandal's time; that is more than thirty years before Bois Caiman :

"It is almost proven that Mongoubert, a merchant at Le Cap, has been poisoned by his Negress (this Negress has since been convicted and condemned), that Lespès has been by his own (one of these Negresses has been convinced and condemned). Proven that Laborde, Vatin's young son, a wigmaker, was [poisoned] by Marianne, Jolicoeur, and Michel, because he did not wish to let them make their sabat in Vatin's kitchen. That Rodet's wife was poisoned by a Negress with whom Rodet lived, and who lived with Jolicoeur. Confessed by the latter that he had wished to poison his master, M. Millet. One discovers a succession of horrors, by the trial of all the different accomplices. The trial of the negroes of M. Pillat, the councilor, was instructed in charge of having poisoned him. Henriette, Negress of lady Faveroles, is very charged and very suspicious of having poisoned her mistress (she has been convicted and condemned). We have not yet had the thread of all the crimes of such a kind committed in Le Cap's Plain, but certainly it will come, and we will realize the just suspicions we have of the death of several whites and negroes in all Neighborhoods. (...) Dame Paparet's Negress, and the negroes of Sieur Delan and Monsieur le Prieur, are accused of the same crime." (Transl.) (56)

By Cécile Fatiman's time, the open war methods took precedence over poisoning, although still in use. Not surprisingly, women were in the forefront of the armed struggle complimented by ancestral magic-religious effects. But, regardless of the time period, women's resistance remained constant in regards to childbearing and reproduction.

 

C- Women's resistance to childbearing

Women's rebellion was very wide in range. When they did not poison the whites, their slaves and their cattle, or enroll in the ranks, they spied on them, relaying information, food, medicines and ammunition (sometimes hidden under their skirts). But that was the least of their impact. Where their resistance was most hurtful to the colony's growth is undoubtedly via their induced sterility that baffled the clueless settlers :

"Admit, gentlemen, You have left unanswered, said the doctor, interrupting me, that of my objections, which always seemed to me as the strongest against the slave regime, were Black women's sterility, and the great mortality of their infants ; two things which can only come from too much work, which prevented them from conceiving, and then dried their milk ; it deprived them of sufficient time to give the necessary care to their offspring.
The excess or duration of labor, I replied, was the least cause of the Negro slaves' infertility : it was to the quality of the climate that they owed it chiefly. We've yet to see, the maidservants from the big house, seated to sew, or laden with other light cares, have more children than the field negroes ; besides, the former did not respond well to harder work ; in several cases, they were reserved for male Negroes." (Transl.) (57)

Abortion, like suicide, was a fairly widespread form of resistance :

"Suicide cases are not uncommon in Saint-Domingue, or rather they are all the more common in that the blacks of certain African nations are strongly persuaded, that by killing themselves they will return to the country of their birth. But abortion and infanticide are even more common among slaves. This crime has sometimes its source in the fear of the embarrassments of motherhood, and in the desire to surrender without hindrance to libertinism ; but it has more often and almost always its principle in the discontent and hatred inspired by a detested master. Numerous secrets are known to the negresses to destroy in themselves the germ of maternity: they succeed all the more easily in deceiving the surveillance, that many masters push brutally, to the point of considering it a misfortune to have pregnant negresses, and as lost of capital, the few moments that mothers take away from work, to employ it in the care of their nursing infants." (Transl.) (58)

D- Infanticide as women's resistance to captivity

When the captives gave birth, many opted for infanticide as a means of, on the one hand, depriving the settler of labor, on the other hand of preventing their offspring from being subjected to slavery. And very often, the midwives did not leave this difficult choice to the mother by taking on the terrible task :

"Zabeth, Creole from Port-de-Paix, aged 55, stamped F. DUCONGÉ, and underneath PORT-DE-PAIX, of an illegible stamp, resembling a burn, having no teeth, ran away last January 10 ; the said Negress was midwife of her master's estate, and was discovered to have committed several crimes, by the death of thirty nursing children, whom she said were dead of mumps. Eleven Negroes or Negresses, Negrites, or Negrillons, who died of swelling and puffiness, since last April, in spite of all the treatments and care which she has been able to give, and a much greater quantity in different times, Always coming from the same disease, caused by the same Negress. We suspect that she is on the M. Merle pere estate, at Jean-Rabel, or on the Boutellier estate, now to M. Foache, where she has relatives, or on the houses of the late M. Boissel. Those who have knowledge of her are asked to give notice to M. F. Ducongé, at Jean-Rabel, to whom she belongs, who will give four Portuguese as reward." (Transl.)  (59)

One can simply contrast the demographic data to understand the impact of Black women's constant resistance : nearly a million captives were brought to Saint Domingue in about 150 years, but in 1791 the Black population was only about 450,000. From independence (1804) to its 200th (2004), this same population grew from about 300,000 to more than 10 million. Demonstrating that births were previously retained to disrupt the slave system.

The Arada midwife and liberator

So, in order for the islamic thesis to be credible, one would have to prove that all these revolutionary women were muslim. Notably this poisonous Arada woman of the Rossignol-Desdunes plantation who made it a duty to remove the newborns from the misfortune of slavery by death. She defied her own death and the brazier to return, post-death, to Guinea ("Africa"), her country, and not to Mecca, home of the muslim Arabs :

"An Arada negress, midwife of the same [Rossignol-Desdunes] plantation, against whom such suspicions were made, was also brought before the same tribunal, where she confessed, laughing, that she had no greater pleasure than to destroy the human species, especially one that destined for slavery ; that she became, by this means, the liberator of the unfortunate mercenaries to whom existence was to be a burden. Reached and convinced by her own admission, this negress was condemned to the same punishment as the first accused. As she was advancing towards the brazier which was to consume her, she appeared repentant, and walked slowly, her head lowered, when suddenly, by an excess of rage and despair, snatching a girdle which held her shirt : "Look, she said, if I have indeed deserved my fate ; the seventy knots of which this belt is garnished, indicate the quantity of children killed by my own hands, either by poison or by an execrable custom which made it a duty to take these young beings to a shameful slavery.
Being a midwife gave me opportunities to hold newborns in my hands, as soon as I pressed one of these victims, lest he/she should escape me, I instantly plunged a pin into his/her Brain, by the fontanelle : hence the mumps so murderous in this colony, and the cause of which is now known to you. I am now dying satisfied that I have nothing more to confess, and am going to join in my country, all that I left there." At these words she rushes forward intrepidly towards the devouring blaze, where she was soon reduced to ashes, uttering frightful cries." (Transl.) (60)

The resistant Amine mother

The following example reinforces our argument that traditionalist view of life after death, or the return to ancestral Guinea ("Africa"), animated the captives (slaves) in their resistance. This is the case of a captive (slave) of the traditionalist ethnic Amine (or Ashanti, Akan, from Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire or Togo). Mother of two, this traditionalist Amine, instead of accepting odious captivity, chooses to drag her two children into her drowning, by tying them to her waist :

"The Amina and Ibo negroes believe in metempsychosis (…) Indeed, the Aminas and the Ibos, on arriving at Saint Domingue, or in any other island, where their destiny is to be slaves, and to water the soil with their sweat, think they escape the evil treatment of the masters, too often unjust and cruel, by committing suicide. They drown themselves in group, or hang each other in line, well convinced that after their deaths, they are transported to their countries, where they will recover the rank, the fortune, the relatives and friends that fate of war had deprived them of.
We had on the estate where I resided, an Amina negress who was sold along with her two children. Having scarcely landed, without having experienced any ill-treatment of Sirs. Desdunes, who acted towards their slaves, like good fathers towards their children, she was seen wandering out of the work place towards the banks of the Ester, she stopped every moment to measure visually the depth of this clear river, and uttered a few sighs, raising her eyes to the sky, and striking her chest. (...) This woman was found one morning, drowned with her two children whom she had tied to her waist, to substract them, as well as herself, from slavery." (Transl.) (61)

And so far, no testimony gathered in the Saint Domingue colony ever reported islamized captives (slaves) wishing, through death, to go along with their children to the islamic paradise. On the contrary, such testimonies relate exclusively to traditionalists.

E- The Manbo-priestesses and the initiated martyrs

The revisionists attempted to appropriate Manbo Cécile Fatiman, however, they ignore, or at least they disregard the many historical passages dealing with the great women officials of the ancestral worship (so-called "vodou") in the resistance. Far from these revisionists' assumptions, attributing islamic origins to whomever they want, without ever presenting direct evidence, we offer here tangible evidence from French soldiers chasing the rebels and the Manbo, these great officials, these Queens, who were at the heart of the struggle. These priestesses often served as martyrs, for from their often cruel deaths the struggle grew exponentially until the final victory, 12 years later.

The Creole Manbo from Fonds Parisien (Plaine du Cul-de-Sac)

We are in February 1792, barely 6 months after the Bois Caiman ceremony, a rebel camp located in Fonds Parisien, in Western Saint Domingue, was attacked, although protected by magical effects that only delayed French soldiers :

Translation :

"In the month of February, 1792, we marched to attack a camp of negroes which was at Fonds Parisien, in the plain of the Cul-de-Sac.
The army consisted of two thousand infantry and four hundred colonial dragoons. I was always a vanguard, and chosen by M. le Comte de Boutillier for these expeditions. On approaching the camp, we were greatly astonished to see, on the side of the road, large perches stuck in the ground, on which various dead birds had been attached, placed in different ways. Some of them were crab-birds ; on others, white chickens, on other black chickens. In the path were bird pieces, thrown from distance to distance, and surrounded by artistically arranged stones ; finally, eight broken eggs, and also surrounded by large zig-zag circles. That made us laugh a lot.
Despite all these prestige, I pushed with fifty dragoons. After a quarter of an hour's march I perceived the camp which was covered with huts, arranged like the troops tents. What was my astonishment when we saw all the blacks jumping, and more than two hundred negresses dancing, singing with security! We ran at full speed to the camp ; the dance was soon over ; the negroes fled." (62)

The naysayers like to use this example to claim that the ancestral religion has not had an impact on the Revolution. They pretend not knowing that no war, holy or not, takes place without loss of great persons' lives. They also readily overlook the continuation of this story in which the captured rebels, mostly women who chose not to flee, displayed the bravery that spiritual Forces and ancestral magic offered them. And we know that a fearless army is an invincible army. But that was only one aspect of the question. The manbo leading this ceremony chose not to flee, knowing however that her cruel death was certain. She offered herself bravely as a martyr, having understood that this was the tactical wish of the Lwa :

Translation :

"On my return, the dragoons who had remained with the infantry pursued the negresses; two hundred of them were captured, to whom no harm was done. The Vodou high priestess had not fled ; she was taken ; instead of listening to her, to be informed on her designs, she was cut to pieces by saber strikes. She was a very beautiful negress, well dressed. If I had not been in the negroes' pursuit, I would not have allowed her to be massacred, without at least having taken much information on her plans.
I questioned several negresses in particular ; I have met some of them on Gouraud's small estate in Fonds Parisien, they knew me ; they could not conceive how we had been able to pass after the obstacles which the great Vodou mistress had multiplied under our feet. It is the assurance that this negress had given them, who had kept them in that confidence and made them dance.
As I had stayed a little while on a small hill to examine them, they imagined that we were fixed there by enchantment.
This priestess was a beautiful Creole negress, of the Boynes estate, so I think, and an excellent subject too." (63)

The Arada Manbo from Sainte Suzanne mountains

In 1796 (year 4) this other resisting Manbo was clearly identified as "Arrada" in origin, therefore of the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey (current Benin), and practicing "Vaudou" (Vodun), her ancestral ritual :

Translation :

"On year 4, we captured an Arrada negress in the Sainte-Susanne mountains. She was of Vodou. This woman was taken to Le Cap ; she was questioned ; but she spoke little Creole. She was judged by the black Télémaque,+++ and conducted to the great square in the midst of a multitude of people of all colors. Negroes and negresses did not hide to say that there could be no human power over her.
Télémaque made a speech full of warmth, not afraid to publish that he was ashamed to be black when he saw his brothers being so gullible. "The hair of this negress," said he, "are so well curled, so well covered with mastic and gum, which you think is so powerful, will fall." He then addressed a few words to this witch, who, like the Pythia, was placed before a brazier and a little tripod; But she was sad and cold-blooded. Then he ordered the black executioner to cut off her hair, which fell under the scissors to the astonishment of all the gullible spectators. They were no less surprised to see these sacred hair devoured by the brazier into which they were thrown. This woman was returned to prison ; and, a few days afterwards, she was entrusted on a dwelling to blacks for whom she became an object of ridicule." (64)

This great Arada officiator was humiliated because of her "Vaudou" heritage and the resistance that this spiritual weapon offered to the slave system. This heroine came out victorious, like thousands of other martyrs Manbo and Hounsi : 

"When the night was used as a veil for these attacks [executions of Blacks by the French], those who strolled along the shore could hear the monotonous noise of corpses thrown into the sea. Among these victims were priestesses, who worshiped the fetishes of Africa : this veneration for the gods of their country was punished by death. A general told me that, touched with compassion at the tought that one of these pious Africans was going to die, he solicited her grace. And Rochambeau [thus, at the end of the war], taking in his hands the little idols of her worship, said, "How can I save her life?"" (Transl.) (65)

For the Service to the Vodun remains to this day, in a liberated country.

F- Women-soldiers of the first moments

The revolutionary effort was diverse. And the Saint Domingue women have used all their means to confront Western barbarism. To physically take up arms was only one of the means these heroines employed. But when we address women-soldiers in Haitian history, we must, from the outset, warn against the lies and exaggerations of Haitian feminists. For, from the historical point of view, they hardly differ from the muslim revisionists who do not respect anything ; not even the limits imposed by the truth. It is in this sense that the intellectual Marlene L. Daut falsely claims that Cécile Fatiman was a woman soldier :

"Other female revolutionaries include Cécile Fatiman, who assisted at the ceremony of Bois-Caiman and purportedly led a battalion at the important battle of Vertières (Madiou 3:47)." (66)

Obviously, Daut borrowed from Charlier's text, which confirmed that General Jean-Louis Pierrot - not his wife at the time - led a battalion at the Battle of Vertières. And taking the liberty that only Haitian intellectuals can afford, Marlene Daut, dared even credit Madiou who never mentioned Cécile Fatiman. Faced with such a gross falsification, one wonders what is so belittling in admitting that Cécile Fatiman was not a woman-soldier? And how, not having taken up arms (physically), harms her revolutionary heritage?

One only needs to not be lazy and to simply go through a few pieces of archives to realize that the Saint Domingue / Haitian woman has no need for her exploits being deceitfully magnified. Since the settlers' testimonies are very explicit about women's participation in the war. From the onset of the general uprising, women were at the head of the rebel platoons, at the heart of which were spiritual dance and traditional magic called Wanga (Ouanga) :

Translation :

"We may be glad to know how they attack. Their enterprises had something really frightening, by the way to dispose of it and start the attack. They never stood tight or uncovered; A thousand blacks would not have waited for a hundred whites in the open country; they advanced at first with a frightful noise, and preceded by a great number of women and children, singing and shouting in chorus. Arrived not far from the enemy, but out of reach, the deepest silence was observed ; They arranged their troops by squads in all the places stuffed, so that they appeared six times more numerous than they really were. The weak man, already intimidated by this apparent multitude of enemies, was still more so by their grimaces and their simulations, and by the attention which the blacks had to surround their enemy as much as they could, cut off any hope of retreat. During these arrangements, made in the midst of an imposing silence, magicians alone could be heard singing and dancing with contortions of demoniacs; They operated enchantments (ouanga) to ensure the attack's success, and often they advanced to the reach, in the confidence that the blows of the enemy could not reach them, and to convince the blacks of the power of their charms. The attack then began with cries and screams capable of frightening only weak men." (67)

Here is an anecdote demonstrating the impact of the belief in "ouanga" on the rebels intrepidity in defying death. This following scene took place at Grande-Rivière-du-Nord, the residence of Mazères, the author :

Translation :

"Louis, a hunter, from the Grande-Rivière district, fired wonderfully one shot with a rifle ; A negro of the coast, full of faith in a purchased spell, said to him one day before this sailor : "You are very clever, you never miss your shot; but I have a ouanga, and I defy you to reach me at twenty paces. "Louis accepts the challenge : the unfortunate man surrounds himself with rabbit skin, and waits without fear the blow which extends him stiff dead before the very door of the dwelling where this scene took place." (68)

These descriptions leave no doubt, that the war tactics employed by the early years Haitian revolutionaries came exclusively from their traditional "African" heritage. The text speaks of a) women - and children - singing and yelling at the head of the militia ; b) magicians operating "ouanga" or wanga, a Bantu term (kikongo, ciluba, etc.) - and not Mandingo, Muslim, or Arabized ; then c) fearful harassment (composed of advances followed by loose withdrawals), in accordance with Bantu war practices up until Chaka Zulu's advent (early christian 19th century) that rendered this ineffective form of warfare obsolete in the southern part of the continent.

G- Women-soldiers/Manbo in the mid moments

All throught the Haitian Revolution, traditionalist women filled the rebel ranks. These next barely known examples prove it. 

Marie-Jeanne de Nippes

At the start of 1793, troubles broke out here and there in the Western province. The actors were as diversified (armed bands, free men of color, white plantation managers, owners, colonial authorities, local authorities, etc.) as their alliances were fragile. The last "skirmish", dated February 3rd, involved "3 or 400 slaves armed with arrows and shotguns" against the military camp "in Santo where 30 of them have perished". (Transl.) (69) Two days later, charges of being armed were laid against the captives of the Fleuriau plantation in the Cul-de-Sac plain (near Port-au-Prince). Early morning, February 15, troops searched the captives' huts. 10 rifles were found and "five negroes were hanged and a negress was whipped." (Transl.) (70) And this whipped captive woman was none other than :

"Marie-Jeanne de Nippes, a 30-year-old Creole, who according to Leremboure "behaved as if inspired by heaven", that is to say she was actually a vodou priestess." (Transl.) (71)

In other words, the Manbo Marie-Jeanne de Nippes, considered as a member of the armed conspirators, was punished for the "vodou" religious inspiration she provided them. 2 days later, she fled with 15 other captives, including her brother. However, a commander from the plantation was asked to find them and he convinced most of them to return. 

Madame Paget aka "The Virgin"

1794 was a pivotal year for the Haitian Revolution. This was the year of separation between Jean-François Papillon, the supreme leader, who has remained faithful to Spain at war with France, and Toussaint Louverture who will decide to betray Spain to join France has she had just abolished slavery. This year of 1794 was also punctuated by the massacre of the French that Jean-François conducted in July at Fort Dauphin. And within the troupe of Jean-François, the Manbo Madame Paget aka "The Virgin", fought with courage and intrepidity, killing 3 French, which was three times more than the average of the 800 male soldiers who caused 787 victims :

"A cult priestess named Madame Paget, called “The Virgin,” dressed in male clothing when she participated in the Fort Dauphin massacre of July 1794, in which she killed three of the 790 white victims." (Transl.) (72)

That the Manbo Madame Paget wore man's clothing in combat - probably so as not to be embarrassed in her movements - reminds us of a similar behavior done nearly two centuries earlier by Nzinga Mbande, the Warrior Queen of the Angolan Kingdom of Matamba who, Dressed as a man, sacrificed captives personally before heading to battle :

"Before she embarked on a military expedition she [Queen Nzinga] sacrificed human victims to her Idol to learn its success. For the celebration of this horrible feast, she wore sumptuous man's clothes in her own way." (73)

(Queen Nzinga or Xinga dressed as a man)

Source : Olfert Dapper. Description De L'Afrique... Amsterdam, 1686. p.369.

H- Women-soldiers of the last moments

The rebels' fighting strategies and tactics progressed tremendously since the 1791 general uprising. But, in spite of more than a decade of conflict, women presence remained unchanged among the rebels. Such a feminine inclusion within a regular army was unknown to both the West and the Arab-Muslim world, thus proving the "Africanity" of this military endeavor. Among the most celebrated women soldiers, we can single out :

Suzanne Bélair aka Sanite

Suzanne Bélair, nicknamed Sanite, a Woman-soldier who remained brave even when facing death. She, who, on October 5, 1802, faced the firing squad, with her husband Charles Bélair, commander of the Revolutionary Army's 7th Brigade. When her spouse was trembling, Suzanne Bélair, the brave, remained calm. Not being afraid of death, she refused, however, to be beheaded, and forced the executioner to shoot her, the fate reserved for soldiers, of which her husband Charles was entitled :

"In the afternoon of the 13th Vendemiaire (October 5th) Charles Bélair and his wife were conducted between two platoons of white soldiers behind Le Cap cemetery. When he was placed before the detachment which was to shoot him, he listened calmly to the voice of his wife, who exhorted him to die as a brave man. As he touched his heart, he fell with several bullets in his head. Sannitte refused to allow herself to be blindfolded. The executioner, in spite of his efforts, could not bend her against the block. The officer who commanded the detachment was obliged to have her shot." (Transl.) (74)

Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière

"The natives filled their clothes with mud, and despising death, threw them upon the shells which they sometimes extinguished. The resolution to die was painted on every face. Each soldier had become a hero. Would these brave men have been able to bow for a moment when the courageous voice of a woman exhorted them to bury themselves under the ruins of the fort? Marie-Jeanne, a woman of color [mulatto, therefore a Creole - not a Mandingo or a Muslim], a native of Port-Républicain, of dazzling beauty, abandoning the occupations of her sex, came at every assault given by the French to confront death on the ramparts. A steel belt, hung with a saber, surrounded her waist, and her hands armed with a rifle boldly sent the murderous lead into the French ranks. She had bound her destiny to that of Lamartiniere, and was still fighting at his side." (Transl.)  (75)

The Women-soldiers at the legendary Crête-à-Pierrot battle

It was therefore in the order of things that women (including Marie-Jeanne) fought side by side with their men at Crête-à-Pierrot, one of the legendary confrontations of the 12-year revolutionary war. Without fear or pity, these women-soldiers even participated in the punitive convoys where they restored to the enemy the same cruelties that they received from him :

"After a sharp six-hour cannonade over the French troops, the revolted horde emerged from its formidable fort, to feed at the sight of the wounded, who had already gone into the moats, be gathered by their brothers in arms ! It was there that, violating the sacred rights of war, they martyred six intrepid soldiers of the fifth light half-brigade, by torments of which the narrative alone abhors. These prisoners were French, that is their crime! And being French, I witnessed these tortures, and incessantly exposed, at the least sign of pity, to experience the same fate by drawing upon me the guilty indignation of the negroes, who kept me captive !
The women, even more ferocious, came out at the head of this demonic legion, whose march was announced by frightful and confused cries. The first Frenchman on whom they threw themselves was young; he was stripped, ripped open, has his heart plucked, roasted, eaten; all drink the streams of its arteries! He is not anymore !
The second was castrated, had the intestines torn out, and finally roasted !
The third oldest, complaining of their inhuman hardness, had the limbs broken, and was dismembered like an animal..." (Transl.) (76)

I- The soldiers' wives' resistance

As important as women-soldiers, were the wives of soldiers who directed, fed, supported and amplified their husbands' subversive actions.

 

Charlotte, Queen of the Haitian Revolution, the lineage Goddess (Lwa, Jany)

Conscious of the complementarity of men and women, according to the traditional religion, the Saint Domingue revolutionaries chose as Supreme Leaders, a couple composed of Charlotte and Jean-François Papillon. Sacred Queen of the rebellion by Father Cachetan - which disproves that the Revolution was muslim - Charlotte, taken prisoner, risked her life in the same way as her husband, King Jean-François :

"Father Cachetan, of whom we have just spoken, who could have, like all the inhabitants of his neighborhood, retired to Le Cap from the beginning of the insurrection, preferred to remain among the negroes in revolt to preach the gospel of faith to them, to make them persevere in a sound and legitimate insurrection in his eyes. He solemnly crowned the negro Jean-François and the negress Charlotte king and queen of the Africans, and leaders of the revolt.
(...)
A mulatto and a negro were broken. The negress Charlotte, the wife of Jean-François, king of the Africans, had been condemned to suffer the same torment, but lest the rebels should retaliate against the white women they had in their power, the General Assembly suspended her execution until further notice." (77)

The legend of Charlotte Papillon began in 1787, 4 years prior to the general uprising, when Jean-François Papillon, her future husband and future revolutionary army leader, fled : 

Translation :

"Jean-François, Creole, about 22 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches, thin, quite good-looking, having on the right side of the breast the stamp RB, above Sr M., and a long scar under the chin: those who are aware of him are asked to give notice to Mr. G. Papillon son, a merchant at Cap-Francais, to whom he belongs." (78)

Jean-François left behind, Charlotte, his lover residing at the same Papillon estate in l'Acul-du-Nord, until she followed him in March 1791 : 

Translation :

"Charlotte, Poulard [Fulani], branded PAPILLON, pretty face, black and very tall, missing for five months. It is said she has a pass and claims to be free. She often moves from one district to another; is presently thought to be in Port-au-Prince or its surrounding. She dresses like a free black woman. People who come in contact with her are requested to have her arrested and put in jail. Inform Madame Papillon at Le Cap, to whom she belongs. A reward of 2 portugaises will be paid, or more if it is demanded." (79)

The act of marronnage was drastic, especially for a captive from the big house like Charlotte. The date of her escape, which was just 5 months before the spark of the Revolution, was therefore not trivial. It marks that the communication between Charlotte and Jean-François was maintained, and that through it, coordination was made between the conspirators of l'Acul, the epicenter of the insurrection, and Jean-François' maroons. And furthermore, the act of her marronnage is a sign that the revolutionary plan was already in progress as of March 1791.
In addition to being Queen, Charlotte was also deified into Manzè Chalòt, Manmzèl Chalòt, or Mademoiselle Charlotte. Her heroic memory is kept alive in Haitian daily life via this Lwa/Jany, who is usually taken for a white woman because of her foreign and haughty ways, and that she "rarely uses the African "language" that is customary to other loa ; and when she uses it, it is with a clumsiness that immediately denotes her non-African origin. She preferably speaks in French." (Transl.) (80) Now, Charlotte was indeed a black woman, even a very beautiful black woman of the Poulard (Fulani) nation (Foula in Creole). And, as the runaway ad indicates, her pretentious behavior stems from the "free" attitude that she adopted to avoid being captured.
Besides, Charlotte was called "Manmzèl" or "Ma demoiselle," (damsel) because it was thus they designated all of Jean-François' lovers :

Translation :

"As for Jean-François, he can go by car with his demoiselles" (81)

In this extract dated October 15, 1791, Toussaint Louverture referred to the lovers of the handsome Jean-François traveling with him in the Spanish part. However, in 1793, the Spanish clergy, an ally of Jean-François, put an end to this dishonorable practice, strongly suggesting to him to settle with the beautiful and heroic Mademoiselle Charlotte :

"Jean-François married his common-law-wife, Charlotte so that it could not be said that a Spanish general was living in sin. She received silk stockings from Governor Garcia as a wedding present, he received a stern lecture from Father Joseph Vasquez about marital fidelity. No more demoiselles for him." (82)

And even the silk stockings, a wedding gift from the Spanish governor Garcia, testify to Charlotte's fanciness and refined taste. Moreover, previously approached by Father Vasquez, Charlotte was the one who talked Jean-François into joining the Spanish side. (83) Consequently, the Spaniards' gifts to Jean-François aimed at his Queen :

"When selecting gifts for their allies, the Spanish chose fine muslin and scarlet cloth for Jean-François, and barrels of wine and rum for Biassou." (84)

Thanks to these first-class fabrics such as muslin, Queen Charlotte was dressed with great elegance  :

(Dress made of muslin, in the 1790's)

Source : The Kyoto Costume Institute. URL : http://www.kci.or.jp/en/

However, Charlotte, the Queen, loved luxury and refinement, without betraying her roots. Goddess (Lwa /Jany) Mademoiselle Charlotte's behavior demonstrates it : "Her favorite ritual dish is chicken meat excessively young, excessively tender and whose plumage is necessarily curly. " (85)

Women from the "Big House" or House Negresses, the Revolution's entrails

The revolutionary contribution of black women of status (or from the Big House) is the most underestimated element of the Haitian Revolution. If these women's importance does not surprise their Haitian offspring, however, among Black peoples who did not wage war for their liberation, especially Black Americans, House Negroes (men or women) are falsely considered traitors. Now, as regards to Saint Domingue it was the contrary. The whole Revolution revolved around women and men from the Big House or in domestic positions, either for the collection of strategic information, the misinformation of the enemy, the supply of various resources, the practices of poisoning, and so on. The revolutionary devotion of the Negress of the House, married to revolutionary officers, was such that the French acknowledged, in case of the island's reconquest, that it would be impossible from them to rally these "Négresses de grande case" or "Negresses from the big house" either by force or by Persuasion :

Translation :

"As for women, forming at least half the island's population, the fear of punishment will soon make them return to duty ; there are scarcely more than those called "negresses de grande case", "Negresses from the big house", who, in towns and plains, have almost always lived with the negro officers, or the privileged in that color, who retain hatred and fury against the whites ; those of culture, which luxury and idleness have not spoiled, will find it ever more interesting to remain faithful to us, and to enjoy, under a tranquil government, small products, that at moments of leisure, they will procure by their industry." (86)

Madame Pageot, the heroic maid

On October 7, 1802, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines went to Petite-Rivière de l'Artibonite where upon arrival, Fr. Videau, the parish priest, invited him to breakfast at the presbytery. It was thanks to a sign from Madame Pageot, a Mulatto woman, maid of the presbytery, that Dessalines escaped his arrest, which was on the menu :

"At the moment of sitting down at the table, a woman of color [Mulatto woman] named Madame Pageot, At the moment of sitting down at the table, a woman of color [Mulatto woman] named Madame Pageot, servant of the priest, came to serve Dessalines water to wash his hands: he had known her for a long time and called her commère (baptismal sibling). This woman also knew the arrest plot, since French soldiers were hidden in the priest's apartments; she seized this moment to make Dessalines a significant sign, executed with the greatest dexterity: this sign consisted in withdrawing her two arms back by a sudden movement. It was to make Dessalines understand that he was going to be bound like a criminal, his arms tied behind his back.
Fine Fox [i.e. sneaky], always awake like the Guinea Fowl, as Boisrond Tonnerre says, already advised by Saget, Dessalines understood his commère, and instead of sitting down to the table, he pretended to need to give out an order to one of his officers and hurried out of the presbytery." (Transl.) (87)

When we consider that Toussaint Louverture was captured in similar circumstances few months before, and that Dessalines gained the final victory a year later, we realize the importance of Madame Pageot's heroic gesture in the success of the Haitian Revolution.

Lady vendors and white soldiers

The French camps were often visited by saleswomen or merchants who sold their goods there. These courageous, shrewd and clever women made good of these opportinuties to lay hands on ammunition, which they then sent to the rebels :

"In the Saint-Domingue war, we often found newly-made French cartridges on negro rebel prisoners ; the astonished whites would then put the blame on the government and its agents ; but I received from Hyacinthe, one of the leaders of the revolt, whom I've let enter the plantations along with several other Negroes, that these cartridges were sent to them by Negresses who frequented the camps and lived in the cities. These women received them in exchange for cabbages, carrots, that they sold to the white soldiers, and often they obtained them by doing favours of other sorts. Black servants, who served their masters in the camps, went out at night in spite of the sentinels' vigilance, and carried them to blacks, who would sent to the rebel camps, the cartridges which had been given to them by the Negresses, or which they had stolen from their masters." (Transl.) (88)

In short, the revolutionnary effort was collective. And the women in close contacts with white soldiers contributed ; and risked big.

J- The valiant women in death

Slavery was maintained by the flame of terror and christian submission, which the colonist kept alight in his captives' minds. Therefore, the captive, in order to free him or herself, must, on the one hand, fight the fear and the spirit of submission that was fed into him or her ; then, on the other hand, insert this fear into the colonist he or she was fighting. That is why the Haitian war of independence was above all a mental and psychological war, a war of will and character. And at this game, the men and women of Saint Domingue excelled. They even used their deaths to vanquish mentally :

"On the faces of those who walked to death, the beautiful character of the freedom which was to be grown on a ground moistened with their blood was seen to shine (...) They often encouraged one another to die. A chief of the Blacks, named Chevalier, hesitated at the sight of the death tools, what! said his wife, "you do not know how sweet it is to die for liberty, and without being touched by the executioner's hand, she took the noose and gave herself death. A mother said to her daughters, who were crying as they walked to the torture : Rejoice, your wombs will not give birth to slaves." (Transl.) (89)

Moreover, these women taught their young children to tolerate being executed without flinching :

"Then on the gibbets, in the flames, in the waves, in the midst of tortures, no one could barely hear any sigh : the child himself did not shed tears, and did not make scaffolds hear his childish cries. The sweet name of country and liberty wandered over their expiring mouths." (Transl.) (90)

Black women were also defiant towards Black Generals (integrated into French forces) who encroached on their rights. For example, following the abolition of slavery in Saint Domingue (1793-1794), Toussaint Louverture ordered the newly freed to return on their former estates to labor. And many of those who refused were executed, notably in Petite-Rivière de l'Artibonite.
Black and Mulatto women that were freshly established in a big city, were slow to obey. These coquettishly dressed ladies were then gathered by General Dessalines, who had their clothes cut off, and ordered them to return to their respective estates. They all obeyed, except one who, at the risk of being executed, stood up to both Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint Louverture :

"On this occasion, only one Negress showed a character which disconcerted General Toussaint ; and she openly refused to leave the city, and obey his orders. Being brought before him : why, said Toussaint, do you not obey my orders, on returning to the estate on which you were a slave? — Because I am no longer, and you yourself have told me, and all the other Negroes, that we were free. — The free man must work, says Toussaint. — Yes, if he is forced to work by his needs ; but I have enough to live by my industry without being dependent on anyone, and no one has the right to force me to work. — I am going to have you shot, said the general. — You can, but I shall die free. Toussaint turned a blind eye to this negress' disobedience, and ordered that they left her in the city" (Transl.) (91)

Without a shadow of a doubt, we are in the heart of the traditionalist reality in which both sexes shared war responsibilities.

K- The ruthless women

In the end, generally speaking, the traditional Saint Domingue (Haitian) woman posed more problems to the slave system than man. Several settlers and white soldiers have made this observation, demonstrating a contrast to the woman that is submissive in islam :

"The negresses were infinitely more insolent, harder, and less inclined to return to duty than the negroes." (Transl.) (92)

Settlers who were unfortunate enough to be captured report abuse they have suffered. Again, the Saint Domingue woman participated in all aspects of the war, and they were the most formidable torturers, especially to the white women prisoners who had so humiliated them during slavery :  

"Then, for the first time, it was permitted to penetrate the darkness which surrounded the fate of the wretches of every sex who had fallen into the brigands hands, who had left the lives of several of them only to overwhelm them with outrages a thousand times more cruel than death. Lastly, it was learned by the report of the prisoners who had been rescued, and many of whom could not survive the liberty which the conquerors had just given them, especially among women, of whom few had been exempted, or had resisted the most ignominious treatment : The negresses chiefly manifested towards them a rage to which the fury and insolence of men could not be compared. But in general the insurrection of the blacks was accompanied by traits of ferocity worthy of appearing in the history of modern times. " (Transl.) (93)

"The Limbé inhabitants, as I have said before, did not rather come to the flames to devour their rich possessions, which they thought would not have to defer longer to seek a more secure asylum ; almost all of them had assembled in the presbytery. The danger was urgent; they were obliged to reach the shore where the boat awaited them, and to abandon at the discretion of a barbarian enemy, what they had most dear in the world. Then the revolted, absolute masters of the quarter, had nothing more urgent than to seize all the unfortunate women scattered and isolated on their estates. They relegated them to the parish's presbytery where Father Philémon was instituted their guardian. But what did these unfortunate beings suffer, both from the brigands and from the scoundrel of Philémon? Each of them was the object of their infamous recreations, even the young sex was not exempt from this abominable servitude! After having worked them all day in the garden or in the kitchen, commanded by negresses, they were shut up in the church, or Father Philémon, as in a seraglio, came to choose the evening with whom he was to spend the night And delivered the others to the brigands, who threw themselves in crowds among them, and abused the excess of their weakness. This trade, infamous and tolerated by a minister of religion, lasted for two months, that is to say, until these unfortunates' deliverance, on the day when M. Touzard made a descent into the quarter." (Transl.) (94)

L- The rebels' mothers, sisters and daughters

We know that the concern for Marie Charlotte de l'Assomption de Milo Papillon's well-being influenced the political and military approach of her husband Jean-François Papillon, the revolutionary army's first leader. We are also aware of the central role played by Suzanne Louverture in support of her husband Toussaint. Similarly, we know the essential contribution that Marie Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur made to Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Likewise, we are well-informed of Marie-Louise Melgrin Coidavid's influence on Henry Christophe, her spouse. And we believe that Raymonde Jacob's influence on her husband Georges Biassou was no less.
However, in addition to the rebels' companions, their daughters, sisters and mothers also significantly impacted their daily lives and decision-making. For example, Toussaint Louverture had adopted Rose, a 10-year-old orphan from Plaisance, after she had emotionally intercepted him on the Gonaïves-Ennery road, shouting to him : "Papa, papa, take me, take me with you." (Transl.) (95)
As for Jean-François, after the defeat of his Spaniard allies, was obliged to leave the island in accordance with the Treaty of Basle of July 22, 1795. But, unwilling to leave behind his mother Anne, his sister Marie Louise, his daughters Célestine and Marie Joseph, (96) and his extended family residing in the French side, Jean-François, thanks to Toussaint Louverture's authorization, was able, in January 1796, to join his family in Fort Dauphin. And from this northeastern city he took them with him into exile in Cadiz, Spain. (97)
But Biassou was not so lucky. He was unable to bring along Diane Grand-Jean, his eighty-year-old mother, in his St. Augustine, Florida exile. He even made many unsuccessful requests to the local authorities for the purpose of organizing a military expedition to Saint Domingue in order to retrieve his beloved mother. (98) Moreover, on January 22, 1792, having received no written reply from his mother and sister, Biassou had stormed Haut-du-Cap's Fathers of Charity hospital, and released his kinship still captive in this place. (99) This gesture of love broke permanently any compromise option between the rebels and the colonists, as envisaged by Jean-François a few months earlier. For, during the December 1791 truce, Jean-François, worrying about his companion Charlotte, who was captured at camp Galliffet, proposed to lay down arms in exchange for a handful of freedoms and amnesty for the rebel leaders. (100) 

In conclusion, it was ridiculous to present Cécile Fatiman as a muslim, and the Haitian Revolution as the work of islam. For this misogynist religion would not have made such a place for women in the struggle. It must be remembered that in islam :

• A woman's body, according to islam, must be hidden from any man with the exception of her close family members and her slaves. (Quran 24 : 31 ; 33:55 ; 33 : 59).
• Women can be married even at pre-pubescent age : "those who have not menstruated." (Quran 65 : 4).
• Slavery is not only allowed, but intercourse is prohibited with married women, "except those (captives) your right hands possess." (Quran 4 : 24).
• The woman's body is described as a field that must be plowed as you please : "Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves." (Quran 2 : 223)
• Women, according to islam, are "deficient in intelligence and religion" and are inferior to men, hense, "the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man." (Sahîh Bukhari : 6 : 301)
• Also according to islam, the woman is predestined to hell : "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." (Sahîh Bukhari : 6 : 301)
• And need we discuss the muslims' enslaving and misogynist paradise in which restrained virgins await to service men ? (Al Rahman 55 : 56-72)

Let's contrast this muslim contempt for women with the privileged status - in the regal sense - of women in the traditional religion. For example, I personally am :

1. a Houngan asògwe or grand officiator, who is the spiritual heir
2. to a woman (Manbo asògwe) who also is
3. heiress to a woman, who was
4. heiress to a man, who was
5. heir to a woman.
6. And so forth, going back in time and generations.

It can therefore be said that gender is not at all a factor in the Haitian ancestral religion that produced the Bois Caïman ceremony. This religion has many sacred songs that evoke unequivocally this effective equality of the sexes, and woman's importance. Here is one of the most comical :

Pa pale fanm mal o.

Pinga pale fanm mal o.

Fanm gen yon dousè ladan l,
Si w kwè m manti goute non.

Translation :

Don't slander women.
Do not dare to slander women. 
Women possess some kind of sweetness,
If you think I'm lying, have a taste.

* Bey Hussein I (1705-1735), with whom Theodore had years of interaction, had in his family a considerable number of women named "Fatima" (101) or "Fatma" ; including Lalla Fatima el-Ghazaliya, Lalla Fatima bint 'Usman, two of his three wives ; then Lalla Fatima, one of his four daughters.
In addition, Lalla Aisha, the second wife of his successor and Theodore's benefactor, Ali I (1736-1756), was Lalla Fatima bint 'Usman's daughter. Similarly, Sidi Muhammad Bey, one of Ali I's sons, took Lalla Fatima as wife.
Besides, the revisionists would love to know that Theodore I was also exposed to the christian name of "Bookman", since 53 years before the Bois Caïman ceremony, he was doing business with a Dutch banker of that name :

Translation :

"As early as October 1738, Theodore had asked Captain Bigani to warn Drost of having to meet him at Naples, the journeys expenses would be assured by Sirs Bookman and Evers. Letter to Bigani, under cover of Bookman and Evers, undated.
(...)
Bookman, Dutch businessman...
Bookman & Evers, bankers" (102) 

And, further discrediting the urban legend that the name "Boukman" came from Jamaica in relation to islam, in Corsica in 1738, Theodore I, called himself several christian names including "Bookman" :

Translation :

"On January 1738, the "Mercure historique et politique de Hollande" (Historical and Political Mercury of Holland) praised Neuhoff, the "liberator" of Corsica. On the island, apart from the Zicavs (of Zicavo), Neuhoff, who regularly changes names and addresses, is no longer regarded ; Sometimes he calls himself Villeneuve, Bookman, Baron Kepre, and sometimes he says he is a "merchant from Venice" or a "citizen from Lucca."" (103)

** The figures of 4 to 14% put forward by Susan Buck-Morss are only a poor attempt to artificially inflate the number of captives likely to be islamized in Saint Domingue. Like all the revisionists, Buck-Morss didn't hesitate in applying data from the whole of the slave trade to Saint Domingue, the main subject of her analysis. But nowhere else than in Saint Domingue an anti-slavery Revolution took place, and succeeded. Moreover, the revisionist proposes a muslim presence in various corners of the "African" continent, such as the Gulf of Benin and the Mozambique Coast, while islam was not established there during the time of Saint Domingue.
In fact, apart from a small islamic contribution from here and there, only Senegambia (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Mali and part of Mauritania) (104) offered quantifiable more or less islamized captives to Saint Domingue. But that was a very small number. Because the data collected by Slavevoyages.org (105) indicate that only 7.05% of the captives disembarked in Saint Domingue came from this Senegambian region. And of these, the majority was purely traditionalist, due to the fact that islam reached the "West African" masses only during their colonial period (106) in the 19-20th centuries ; therefore, after Haiti's independence.
Moreover, were of Senegambian origin, only 5.9% of the captives of Northern Saint Domingue where the general uprising broke out and the Bois Caïman ceremony held. However, 51.7% of Northern Saint Domingue captives came from the highly traditionalist "Central Africa" ; while 22.5% were from the Gulf of Benin, proud Vodun servants.Finally, for comparison, no Revolution or serious attempt at Revolutions was reported in Spanish South America where Senegambians formed the majority of captives at 63.91%. Similarly, the colonies where the Senegambians formed the most numerous group : French Guiana (26.75%), the United States (24.36%), were extremely peaceful in comparison to the revolutionary and predominantly traditionalist Saint Domingue.
*** Makandal or Macandal was not muslim. We have demonstrated it elsewhere. And we might reproduce it here, if we find the time.
+ Genealogists propose that First lady Marie Louise Amélie Pierrot nicknamed Cécé was born in 1826, from the marriage of Cécile Fatiman and Louis Pierrot. But since Cécile Fatiman was born in 1775, and was 51 years old in 1826, we think that her daughter Cécé was born long before 1826. Unless Cécé was not the daughter, but the granddaughter of Cécile Fatiman ; or perhaps she was rather the daughter of another woman who was much younger than Cécile Fatiman.
Newspapers during her time have certified that  Mrs Nord Alexis, this First Lady known as Cécé, was the daughter of former President Louis Pierrot. (107) And Semexant Patterson, a grandnephew of Cécé, as well as Daumec Bobo, a grandnephew of President Nord Alexis, (108) informed that Cécé was the niece of Queen Marie Louise Coidavid :

"Nord Alexis had married one of the daughters of President Pierrot, one of the nieces of Queen Marie Louise, wife of Henry Christophe." (Transl.) (109)

Daumec Bobo and Semexant Patterson were "two grand nephews of the presidential couple who were considered their adopted children". (Transl.) (110) Their information is therefore not to be doubted. Knowing that Cécile Attiman Coidavid known as Cécile Fatiman was the big sister of Queen Marie Louise Coidavid, and the first wife of Louis Pierrot, we conclude that Cécé was the daughter of Cécile Fatiman, not her granddaughter.
In addition, some suggest that Cécile Attiman Coidavid divorced Louis Pierrot around 1812. If that is true, then this couple's 3 children were necessarily born before the 1812  divorce. Moreover, Cécé could even have been born before 1806, since these same genealogists have put forward 1806 as the birthdate of Anne Euphrasie Chambellant, the daughter of Louis Pierrot from his second marriage with Geneviève Coidavid.
++ Jean Fouchard. Les Marrons de la liberté, 2e ed. Port-au-Prince, 1988. p.412.
+++ But who was this black judge that mistreated the Manbo? He was none other than César Télémaque, a "nègre vraiment français", or a "truly French Negro", as French author D'Aval (111) put it. In other words, he was the very prototype of a sellout. Born in Martinique, he lived 49 of his 60 years in France where he was 36 years married to a French (white) woman, at the time of this event. He arrived in Saint Domingue that same year of 1796, and, like all the French metropolitans, he felt a profound disdain for every element of the ancestral civilization - if we may say so. Leclerc appointed him Cap Français' mayor, for having comforted the whites after the fires sparked by rebel general Henry Christophe. The same Christophe who, in 1806, was the object of César Télémaque's malversations, following the assassination of the Liberator, the Emperor Jacques I, known as Dessalines. This pro-Western César Télémaque whom the Emperor, on April 21, 1804, made the mistake of sparing out of pity, (112) - after he preferred death instead of hanging a white Frenchman. He seated as president of the Constituent Assembly, which overnight inflated the number of parishes from 23 to 41 in the Western and Southern provinces in order to obtain deputy majority and thus sabotage the legitimate power of Henry Christophe, the second in rank after Dessalines. In short, he became a senator for six years, in 1806, and was a signatory of the constitution of the West, that had broken up from the North of the country. César Télémaque, this black shameful of his race, was one of the architects of the counterrevolutionary Banana Republic that is currently Haiti.

Notes

(1) Hérard-Dumesle describes the officiator's gesture in these words: "Not far from this place [Morne Rouge, place of the August 14, 1791 meeting] another assembly offered the gods a new sacrifice ; there a pig was sacrificed, and a young virgin was the Pythia, who consulted the palpitating entrails of the victim ; she lifted her innocent hands towards heaven, and exclaimed with the accent of inspiration, that the divinity was propitious to an enterprise surrounded by so many happy omens. Imaginations, exalted by the idea of the endured sufferings, no longer hesitated to run to arms.
The next day it was near midnight (August 23 to 24), when the tocsin signaled the disaster. [In fact, the insurrection erupted on the night of August 22-23, placing the sacrificial ceremony the day before, rather on the night of August 21-22.]" (Translated) Hérard-Dumesle. Voyage dans le Nord d’Hayti ou révélations des lieux et des monumens historiques. Cayes, 1824. p.89.
(2) Jean Fouchard. Les Marrons du syllabaire : quelques aspects du problème de l'instruction et de l'éducation des esclaves et affranchis de Saint-Domingue. Port-au-Prince, 1953.
(3) Étienne D. Charlier. Aperçu sur la formation historique de la Nation haitienne. Port-au-Prince, 1954. p.49.
(4) "On the night of the 14th of August, one of the future leaders of the revolt, Bouckman had assembled conspirators at Bois-Caiman, a place set aside, far from prying eyes, and there, during an imposing voodou ceremony presided over by an old African negress, denounced the God of the Whites and put the freedom of his brothers in misfortune under the protection of the God of the Africans." (Transl.) Étienne D. Charlier. Ibid.
(5) General Rameau's genealogy can be found on this non official page:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~htiwgw/familles/fiches/041518.htm, what's however unanimous, is that the General 's testimony, of great precision, is backed the official data from the Royal Almanac (L'Almanach Royal D'Hayti) that marks the birthdate of Queen Marie-Louise, by 3 year Cécile Fatiman (Attiman) Pierrot's younger sister.
(6) Gérard Barthélémy. "Propos sur le Caïman : Incertitudes et hypothèses nouvelles". In : Chemins Critiques, Vol 2. No 3, Mai 1992. pp-33-58.
(7) Charles Najman. Haïti, Dieu seul me voit. Paris, 1995. p.158.
(8) Sylviane A. Diouf. Servants of Allah : African Muslims enslaved in the Americas. New York, 1998. p.229.
(9) Gedichte von Ludwig Uhland. "The knight of Saint George". In: The Benares Magazine. Vol 3. No. 1. January 1850. p.51.
(10) Les Afiches Américaines du 26 Avril 1783, parution no. 17. p.217.
(11) Les Afiches Américaines du 17 Avril 1784, parution no. 15. p.241.
(12) Les Afiches Américaines du 24 Juin 1789, parution no. 51. p.341.
(13) Les Affiches Américaines du 6 julliet 1774, parution no. 27. p.314.
(14) Les Affiches Américaines du 11 mai 1785, parution no. 19. p.216.
(15) Les Affiches Américaines , Supplément du mercredi 8 frévrier 1786, parution no. 6. p.70.
(16) Les Affiches Américaines du 6 Novembre 1771, parution no. 45, p.486.
(17) Les Affiches Américaines du 25 juillet 1780, parution no. 30. p. 233.
(18) La clef du cabinet des princes de l'Europe ou recueil historique et politique sur les matières du tems. Tome LXV. Juillet 1736. Luxembourg, 1736. p. 24.
(19) La clef du cabinet des princes de l'Europe ou recueil historique et politique sur les matières du tems. Tome LXV. Juillet 1736. Luxembourg, 1736. p. 17.
(20)  La clef du cabinet des princes de l'Europe ou recueil historique et politique sur les matières du tems. Tome LXV. Juillet 1736. Luxembourg, 1736. pp. 24, 26.
(21) Julia Gasper. Theodore Von Neuhoff, King of Corsica: The Man Behind the Legend. Newark, 2013. p.96 ; Also called "Grégoire Attiman" : Le courrier No. 104, du mardi 25 décembre 1736.
(22) Mercure Historique et Politique du janvier 1737. p.36.
(23) The Critical Review, Or, Annals of Literature. Volume 24. London, 1798. p.237.
(24) Giacomo Casanova. Histoire de ma vie. Vol.6. Leipzig, 1962. p.348.
(25) The New American Cyclopaedia : A Popular Dictionary of General knowledge. Volume 12. Edited by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana. New York. 1863. p.207.
(26) Earl Leslie Griggs. Henry Christophe & Thomas Clarkson: A Correspondence. Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1952. p.79.
(27) Thomas Madiou. Histoire d'Haïti. Tome 6. 2éd. Port-au-Prince, 1988. pp.226-227.
(28) Alessandro Panajia. ‪Il casino dei nobili‬: ‪famiglie illustri, viaggiatori, mondanità a Pisa tra Sette e Ottocent‬. Pisa, 1996. p.194.
(29) Beaubrun Ardouin. Études sur l'histoire d'Haïti. Vol. 9. Paris, 1860. p.57.
(30) Charles Dupuy. Le Coin de l'Histoire. Tome I, 2e édition. Port-au-Prince, 2003. p.18.
(31) Susan Buck-Morss. Hegel, Haiti, and Universal History (Illuminations: Cultural formations of the Americas). Pittsburgh, 2009. p.141.

(32) Gustave d'Alaux, Maxime Rayband. L'empereur Soulouque et son empire. Paris, 1840. p.64.

(33) J.C. Dorsainvil. Histoire d'Haïti & F.I.C. Histoire d'Haïti. Port-au-Prince, 1942. p.158. Riché : "était le grand ennemi de toutes les sectes superstitieuses. Il poursuivit avec vigueur ceux qui pratiquaient les cérémonies et les danses "vaudou""
(34-35) Milo Rigaud. La tradition Voudoo et le Voudoo haïtien : Son Temple, ses Mystères, Sa Magie. Paris, 1953. pp.71, 77.
(36) J.C. Dorsainvil. Op. Cit. p.206.
(37) Alcius Charmant. Haiti: vivra-t-elle. Le Havre, 1905. pp.179-80. (Quoted by Michael Largey. Vodou Nation: Haitian Art Music and Cultural Nationalism. Chicago, 2006. p.68.
(38) Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Dossier Nouvelle Série, NS 3, p.30. "lettre du 12 octobre 1908." Quoted by Pascale Berloquin-Chassany. ""Papa Nord", charisme et relations diplomatiques 1902-1908". In : La révolution haïtienne au-delà de ses frontières. Paris, 2006. pp.167-183 (p.175)
(39) Le matin No.462 du jeudi 15 octobre 1908. In : Jean Desquiron, Haïti à la Une : Une anthologie de la presse haïtienne de 1724 à 1934. Tome II, 1870-1908. Port-au-Prince, 1994. pp.256-257.
(40) Stephen Bonsal. "The passing of Nord Alexis of Haiti : A Typical Turn in the Wheel of Popular Fortune by Which Presidents Are Made and Lost in the Black Republic." In : The New York Times of February 21, 1909, p.3. ; The American Mediterranean. New York, 1912. pp.59-60, 68-70, 79, 102.
(41) William A. MacCorkle. "The Monroe Doctrine and its application to Haiti".  In : The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 54, International Relations of the United States (Jul., 1914), pp. 28-56 (pp.38-39, 42-43)
(42) Jafrikayiti. Viv Bondye aba relijyyon! Ottawa, 2000. pp.44-46.
(43) Les Affiches Américaines du mercredi 15 juillet 1789, parution no. 45, p.941.
(44) Les Affiches Américaines samedi du 24 février 1787, parution no. 8, p.705. 

(45) Supplément aux Affiches Américaines du samedi 3 décembre 1774, parution no. 48, p.573.
(46) Les Affiches Américaines du mercredi 9 août 1775, parution no. 32, p.374.
(47) Les Affiches Américaines du mercredi 25 janvier 1775, parution no. 4, p.38.
(48) Les Affiches Américaines du mercredi 17 mars 1785, parution no. 11, p.130.
(49) Supplément aux Affiches Américaines du samedi 15 juin 1771, parution no.24, p.244.

(50) Supplément aux Affiches Américaines du samedi 13 juin 1789, parution no.36, p.903. 
(51-56) Sébastien Jacques Courtin. Mémoire sommaire sur les prétendues pratiques magiques et empoisonnements prouvés aux procès instruits et jugés au Cap contre plusieurs Nègres et Négresses dont le chef, nommé François Macandal, a été condamné au feu et exécuté le vingt janvier 1758. (A.N. COLONIES F3. 88).
(57) Carteaux J. Félix. Histoire des désastres de Saint Domingue.  Paris. 1802. p.301. 

(58) Michel Descourtilz . Histoire des désastres de Saint-Domingue. Paris, 1795. p.90.

(59) Supplément aux Affiches Américaines du mercredi 1 mars 1786, parution no.9, p.110.

(60-61) Michel Pierre Descourtilz. Voyages d'un naturaliste, et ses observations faites sur les trois ... Volume 3.  Paris. 1809. pp.119-120, 130-131. 

(62-64) Colonel Malenfant. Des colonies et particulièrement de celle de Saint-Domingue : mémoire historique. Paris, 1814. pp. 217-218, 218-219, 219-220.
(65) Antoine Métral. Histoire de l'expédition des Français à Saint-Domingue. Paris, 1825. pp.177-178.
(66) Marlene L. Daut. Tropics of Haiti : Race and the Literary History of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World, 1789-1865. Liverpool, 2015. p. 208.
(67) Michel Descourtilz . Histoire des désastres de Saint-Domingue. Paris, 1795. p.193. 

(68) Mazères. De l'Utilité des colonies, des causes intérieures de la perte de Saint-Domingue et des moyens d'en recouvrer la possession. Paris, 1814. p.66.
(69-71) Jacques de Cauna. Au temps des isles à sucre : histoire d'une plantation de Saint-Domingue au XVIIIe siècle. Paris, 2003. pp.231, 232.
(72) Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, Aud. Santo Domingo, 1089, letter 548, enclosure no. 4.  ; Public Record Office, London, WO 1/65, p.809. ; Quoted by David Barry Gaspar, Darlene Clark Hine. More Than Chattel: Black Women and Slavery in the Americas. Bloomington, 1996. p.278.

(73) Olfert Dapper. Description De L'Afrique... Amsterdam, 1686. p.369. 

(74-75) Thomas Madiou. Histoire d'Haïti. Tome 2. Port-au-Prince, 1847. pp.329, 221-222.
(76) Michel Pierre Descourtilz. Voyages d'un naturaliste, et ses observations... Volume 3.  Paris. 1809. pp.355-356
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(84) Philippe R. Girard. Op. Cit.
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(89-90) Antoine Métral. Op. Cit. pp.180-181.
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How to cite this article:
Rodney Salnave. "Cécile Fatiman wasn't muslim". January 13, 2017 ; Updated Aug. 13, 2019. [online] URL: http://bwakayiman.blogspot.ca/2016/12/cecile-fatiman-wasnt-muslim.html ; Retrieved on [enter date]

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