In the late 1820's Mme. Marie Laveau of New Orleans was moving up a ladder of success from being a simple coiffeur (hairdresser) to mambo (voodoo queen). I think that this is a rather interesting path for this free woman of color at a time where there were no alternative paths of life for women, especially women of color. Black & Creole women's lives were not their own but, this woman created a persona that would be sought after, even to this day.
How did this happen? Mme. Laveau was a born into a society that was maintained by secrets. The very essence of creole life was held together by lies and skeletons.
For instance, legal interracial marriages were rare in Louisiana before 1870 and
" the desire for white men for sexual relations with Negro women was so great that special institutions grew to satisfy it " so this is how the instituition of placage came to be. The infamous Quadroon Balls played a major part in the employing this system where by mother's or female relatives escorted beautiful young creole girls to these balls which were attended by rich and sometimes poor white men with the purpose of finding the young girl a suitor. These unions were fueled by power, sex and money. Enter a spirit born into this world, and you have an incredible information base to pull from as an informant,consultant,confidant,spiritual adviser. This was a perfect time to be a Voodooienne.~ to be continued
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