Superstition

The Haitian society is known to be highly superstitious. Name anything that happens there and you will be surprised to hear a reason why it took place.

"Superstition" may be defined as, a belief or practice, not based on reason or scientific knowledge, but resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. Like in every country, Haiti has its share of superstitions and false beliefs. The earthquake of 2010 not only resulted tens of thousands of deaths and inflicted untold misery on the Haitians, but that gave birth of five big superstitions which might inflict more pain and misery on the Haitians in the future. Superstitions dominate human minds from the basic understanding that, "whatever happens, happens for a reason". They are mentioned here in brief: (1) God's revenge: This nonsense superstition spewed from the mouth of Reverend Pat Robertson, host of the 700 Club TV show. He said, the earthquake was God's vengeance on Haitians, because the Haitians made a pact with the devil to win freedom several hundred years ago; (2) Gaia's Revenge: This was started by actor and leftist activist Danny Glover. He said this was nature's revenge against the environmentalist climate summit agendas!; 3) Voodoo Worldview: Voodoo contains some sets of silly rituals and the practice believes that one's life, health, and overall fate are always influenced by various deities which have the ultimate power over them; 4) Statist System: It is no wonder that Haiti is the poorest, the most handicapped and suppressed country in the Western hemisphere. It was the prime responsibility of the state to protect the country from natural disasters and take care of the economic and social policy of the state, but it failed; and 5) Blame and Rely on America: Behind everything there is some role of the U.S and thus it is their responsibility to help in cases of disaster, whether it is natural such as earthquakes, or man-made, such as poverty.

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Superstition in Haitian business dealing

Haiti is one of the few countries in the world where superstition plays a major role in every aspect of people's live.

Something you would not believe but happens to be true and according to many people I talk to, it is common practice in the Haitian society.

I was in shock because a merchant categorically refused to sell to me and it has nothing to do with my skin color because she and I are Black. Would you believe that she did not want to sell to me because of three specific reasons: 1) I was a Man, 2) I was her first client for the day and 3) she has better luck with women and not men. She told me that" Shans mwen se fanm. Mwen Pa Gin Chans Gason". Translation: Her luck is with women; that she doesn't have good luck with men. She absolutely believes that if her first business transaction for the day is with a man and not a woman, her entire day will not be profitable.

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The Houssa phenomenon in Haiti. It is something believed by most people where it is believed to have occurred when businesses suddenly and mysteriously lose money.

Many believe that one of the persons involved in the transaction has the power to mysteriously take money away. There are many instances and stories told about certain Houssa people coming in to a store and buying something

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