Bois Caiman

Key Figures

The Bois Caiman ceremony is said to have been presided over by the revered houngan, Boukman Dutty. Born in Jamaica, Boukman received his name because he, unlike many other enslaved people, was said to have been literate (Book-Man). He was sold by a British owner to a Frenchman in the sugar-producing colony of Saint-Domingue. Perhaps because of his spiritual post and conceivably also because he was a coachman whose duties allowed him to create connections to other plantations besides his own, Boukman was able to solicit the participation of a number of enslaved Africans at the Bois Caiman ritual.

To these potential rebels Boukman swore, as a reward for their dedication to the cause, that they would be returned to their ancestral homeland of Ginen, or Africa, if they were killed during the insurrection. To those who may have betrayed the plot, Boukman promised to remove all spiritual protection. Acting under this oath of loyalty, hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans fought what was then regarded as the world's greatest army of the French and won African independence in the former colony on January 1, 1804.

The need to create loyalty and unity among the rebels was critical to the success of the Haitian Revolution. Perhaps the attendees at Bois Caiman understood this better than most. In the French colony of Saint-Domingue, a number of African ethnic groups were represented among the enslaved population, including groups from Senegambia, Angola, and the Bight of Benin; Africans born in the colony, called Creoles, occasionally viewed themselves as separate from the bossales, or Africans brought to the colony directly from Africa. Additionally, it was not uncommon to find affrancbis, or free people of color in the colony, acting as large land (and enslaved Africans) holders. These factors made insurrection of the enslaved population highly improbable because of potential rifts. However, the Bois Caiman ceremony has been said to be responsible for providing the spiritual energy necessary to overcome these boundaries.

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