Turning his back on the spirits

Voodoo is part of Haitian politics,” said hougan Philippe Castera, who lives in a shack but carries a cellphone. “The National Palace is filled with the spirits of the ancestors, and the president must be introduced to these spirits and deal with them.”

According to a foreign diplomat, it was no secret that Mr. Aristide had adopted the rooster as his voodoo icon, and had several voodoo advisers on staff. He distributed money and food to hougans in the slums, an important element of his support base.

Was he serious? “Until we all meet our loas [spirits], we’ll never really know for sure,” the diplomat said. “But what is clear is that Mr. Aristide understood that voodoo was part of the Haitian consciousness and he used certain symbols and references in his speeches.”

He also had an unofficial priestess, named Sister Anne, who attended government rallies, handed out sticks to the crowd and urged people to demonstrate for the president. But after Mr. Aristide fled, she also went into exile, and other hougans involved with the government went into hiding.