Gospel of Cha-Cha

Title: "Cha-Cha"--The cha-cha first appeared in the West Indies where there is a plant that produces seed pods that make a "cha-cha" sound. In Haiti, the voodoo band consisted of three drums, a bell, and a rattle which was made from this "cha-cha" plant. The cha-cha was used by the band leader as a metronome to set the pace for dancing and singing. In 1953, the Cuban orchestra, "America," started playing a mambo with a different beat. It was slower, allowing the dancers to use a slight hip undulation on the slow count. Gradually this was changed into a triple step and the cha-cha was born! Soon, dance studios reported that it was their most requested dance. The cha-cha is characterized by a swinging of the hips, called "Cuban Motion," and by very small steps. (http://www.2leftfeet.com/chacha/)

L3: "castanets"--percussion instruments known to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, possibly of Middle Eastern origin, now used primarily in Spanish dance music or imitations of it. There are many kinds, the most common consisting of two small matching pieces of hard wood or ivory, joined at the inner edge and used with a thin strap in the player's hand; they are snapped together between the palm and fingers. Castanets are also occasionally used in orchestral music. (encyclopedia.com)

L7:"Erzulie"--In the Vodoun (Voodoo) Pantheon, Erzulie is the Loa (goddess) of love, romance, art, and sex. Three in aspect, she can be Erzulie Freda, a virgin goddess likened to the Virgin Mary; Erzulie Dantor, loa of jealousy and passion; La Siren, a personification of the sea and goddess of motherhood. Her color is pink, her animal a white dove. She is associated with the Lukumi Orisha Oshun, and sometimes Chango. (as Erzulie Dantor). (www.about.com)

L14: ""Papiamentu"--Papiamentu is a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, and it also has some Arawak Indian and African influences. Papiamentu is one of the few Creole Languages of the Caribbean that has survived to the present day. Papiamentu is predominately a spoken language among the local people of Curaçao, Bonaire, and Aruba. The official language is Dutch, and the written Papiamentu is limited to some local newspapers and literature. Also the schooling system is Dutch, and people typically don't get any formal training in their language. There have been some discussions about introducing Papiamentu to be taught at schools as well. (http://www.narin.com/papiamentu/)

L15: "Damballa Wedo"--Alternate Spelling of Damballah In Vodoun, Damballah is the eldest and chief of the a primordial serpent deity who created the world and the Gods. He, along with his wife Ayida, is sometimes likened to the Kundalini serpent of Hindu mysticism. Damballah has many aspects, including his Petro manifestation, Damballa la Flambeau (Damballah torch). Damballah is of such great age and antiquity that he does not speak; when possessing a follower during a ritual, he prefers to slither on the ground or sit in the basson. (www.about.com)"Ogoun"--In the pantheons of Vodoun (Voodoo), Lukumi, and Candomble, Ogoun (Ogun) is the chief of the warriors, the Orisha or Loa of War, blood, and iron. He is the guardian of the forge, and the patron of civilization and technology. In Vodou, his aspects are Ogoun feray (Fer, feraille) and Ogoun Badagris. he is associated with the Catholic St. Jaques. Ogoun is similar in many ways to the Greek God Mars. (www.about.com)

L18: "Citadelle of Shadows", La Citadelle La Ferriere is a fortress that was built by King Henry Christophe in a city to the North of Haiti called Cap-Haitian. After Haiti gained its independence from the French, there was a great concern about a return of the French army. As a result, a lot of fortresses were built to protect Haiti from possible future invasions. The "Citadelle La Ferriere" is one of the most famous of such fortresses, because of its eloquence and magnificence. (http://www.uml.edu/Dept/EE/labs/DSP/coin.html)

L20: "Toussaint"--Toussaint Louverture, b. 1743?, d. 1803. Connected with slave revolution in Haiti,1791. Page here: (http://www.travelinghaiti.com/history_of_haiti/toussaint_louverture.asp)

L27: "Ay, Bahia"--Bahia, a Brazillian State, probably most famous for author Jorge Amado, as well as the 60's Rock artists (Jimmy Page, Janis, John Lennon, etc.) who visited it for its natural beauty.

L33: "Papa Legba"--In the Vodoun(Voodoo) Pantheon, Papa Legba is the Loa of doorways and crossroads. Like the god Hermes of the Greek pantheon, Legba is the messenger of the the gods; other Loas can only be contacted through him. His counterpart in Lukumi is Eleggua although in Vodoun he is usually depicted in the aspect of an elderly man carrying a cane."Shango"--The god of thunder and the ancestor of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. He is the son of Yemaja the mother goddess and protector of birth. Shango (Xango) has three wives: Oya, who stole Shango's secrets of magic; Oschun, the river goddess who is Shango's favorite because of her culinary abilities; and Oba, who tried to win his love by offering her ear for him to eat. He sent her away in anger and she became the river Oba, which is very turbulent where it meets the river Oschun. Shango is portrayed with a double axe on his head (the symbol of thunder), with six eyes and sometimes with three heads. His symbolic animal is the ram, and his favorite colors are red and white, which are regarded as being holy. In Brazil, Shango is worshipped as a thunder and weather god by the Umbandists. In Santeria, Shango (Chango) is the equivalent of the Catholic saint St. Barbara.

L34:"Bedward"--Alexander Bedward based the cult, Bedwardism, on himself. In 1920 he preached that he would ascend to heaven and later would return to destroy the earth. His ascencion predicted for Dec 31, 1920 failed but he was able to soothe the masses by claiming that God has granted more grace to earn their salvation. He ended his days in a lunatic asylum, and true to real believers, his followers hung on to their Messiah in true belief that his lunacy pointed to the fact he did not belong to this world. (http://www.fortunecity.com/healthclub/medical/1/oct99.html)"Pocomania"--It happens at once, some day, some time, in remote, muddy poor villages in Jamaica. Men, women, children gather under a tin roof of one of the ordinary decaying huts that even from far doesn’t resemble to a church … as if all intuitively felt the "right moment" to gather together and guided in trance by the Mother travel together into the Spirit World, where the Holy Spirit and other spirits will talk to them and advise them… Thus begins Pukumina, the ritual of Pocomania, of which the meaning is " small madness’ ". Throughout decades African slaves, transported to Caribbean colonies, in Jamaica intimately preserve and practise semi-secretly these ancient spiritual practices in Revival Churches where the Christian Holy Spirit found an important place among other spirits in the World of the Spirits. (http://www.ipak.org/jamajka/first.html)

L35: "Fortaleza"--Fortaleza is the capital of the State of Ceara. Also, the name of a Tower/Fort in San Lazaro in Cuba.

L36: "Nanigo"--an Afro-Cuban sect (Abakwa) associated with a particular drum style. (http://projectdrum.com/news/article_35.html) However, it appears Hughes is refering to a place, though this could be poetics.

L40: "Marie Leveau"--The most prominent figure in the true history of Voodoo in America was Marie Laveau, the legendary "Voodoo Queen" feared and revered throughout 19th century Louisiana. The ancient rites of Voodoo -- along with a heaping helping of down-to-earth shrewdness -- propelled her to a profound level of influence among the common folk and the aristocratic gentry alike, a feat nearly unimaginable for a black woman in the oppressive days of slavery. (http://www.parascope.com/en/articles/voodooQueen.htm)

L42: "John Jasper"--John Jasper, preacher, philosopher, and orator was born in Fluvanna County, Virginia on July 4, 1812. He was the youngest of twenty-four (24) children. He was converted on the fourth of July, 1839 in Capital Square of Richmond, Virginia. He was baptized in 1849 and on the same day he preached a funeral which immediately brought him fame. One of the great slave preachers, Jasper became a noted funeral preacher long before the Civil War. He taught himself to read and write, and although he delivered his sermons in the dialect of the southern slave, more educated ministers said that Jasper's vivid and dramatic sermons transcended "mere grammar." Noted for his fervid zeal, gifted imagery, and colorful oratory. (http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/vbha/6th4.html) Interesting to note that his sermon, title "The Sun Do Move" inspired a play by Hughes by the same title.