Laveau, Marie

Marie Laveau is one of the most legendary African figures of the 19th and 20th centuries. As Vodu queen of New Orleans, her reign of power extended throughout the southern region of the United States. As a matriarch, Laveau's powers included healing the sick, extending altruistic gifts to the poor, and overseeing spiritual rites. Marie Laveau was respected and feared by both black and white alike. Even after her death, her legendary powers persisted through her daughter, also named Marie Laveau. Her grave is the second most visited grave site in the United States. In St. Louis Cemetery No. 14, one can find the burial ground of Marie Laveau. Each year, thousands of visitors flock to her burial site and adorn her plot with spiritual regalia, candles, money, flowers, and assorted personal items. This entry looks at her early life, the Vodu/Vodu context in which she was raised, her rise to leadership, and her eventual demise.

Life in New Orleans

Born in 1800 to an African woman named Marguerite Decantale and the son of a white planter, Marie Laveau experienced a life more privileged than her enslaved brothers and sisters. Her father, Charles Laveau, made certain that she and her mother were provided for financially, although he often neglected Marie emotionally. Her father purchased an Igbo child named Louison from West Africa in 1814, who was close in age to Marie. It is possible that Marie acquired some of her knowledge of African ritual from Louison. Igbos were well known for the rituals and knowledge of herbs and medicine.

Marie was married to a Creole man, also the son of a white enslaver, from Santo Domingo, named Jacques Paris. Jacques reportedly disappeared and was reported dead 5 years later. Upon his disappearance, Marie began referring to herself as the “Widow Paris.” After the reported death of her husband, Marie started a relationship with Jean Christophe Duminy Glapion. Because they were not allowed to marry in a church, Marie performed their matrimony ceremony herself. Together, they had 15 children, some of whom were victims of the various yellow fever outbreaks that plagued New Orleans due to the city's poor drainage system. Although Marie was a committed mother and wife, much of her priority in caretaking was extended to her spiritual children and the general community.

Marie became a hairdresser to create economic stability for herself and her family. Through interaction with her black clients who were house servants, she was exposed to personal information about her wealthy white clients, who often sought her counsel. Marie used this information to give informed counsel to the people who sought advice from her concerning their personal affairs. Many wealthy and politically affluent individuals, both white and black, paid Marie for personal advice, intervention in some situation, and protection against any evil energy that might have been placed against them.