During our first born E was in the delivery room while I waited in another room where they bring the Mothers and new borns. As I’m waiting in this room for E there were about 15 to 20 other Mothers in there waiting to get checked out. As soon as you have your baby you have to leave the hospital, no bed rest or anything like that.
As I’m standing there waiting I,m watching a women all dressed in white going from Mother to Mother with a small glass in her hand, it was the size of a shot glass. In this glass was a red liquid and when she approached the Mother and her new born the Mother would dip the tip of her small finger into the glass and then put her finger into the babies mouth.The Mother would move her finger around the inside of the babies mouth until the red liquid was off her finger. Some of the Mothers didn’t, accept the liquid and seemed to get angry at the woman in white. As I was watching this ….. the door opens and in comes E and our baby. While we were getting E ready to leave I asked her about the lady in white. I said “What is that lady doing? Is that some vitamin in the glass for newborns?”
E said to me: The lady in white is a “Manbo” (Female witch doctor) The glass she is holding has chicken blood in it and the Mothers are giving it to their babies to protect them from a “Lougawou”( A demon that kills babies)) I said “What are you talking about?
E then told me that the “Lougawou” kills babies by drinking their blood because the blood tastes sweet. By having the babies drink the chicken blood the Haitians believe that their babies blood will now have bitter taste to the “Lougawou” and therefore it will not harm them.
Let me tell you, sure looking forward to our Lords return.