IGBO GRAMOUN

The Kreyòl phrase "Ibo Granmoun" means that Ndiigbo (Igbo) Are Their Own Authority—Igbos are self sufficient and consequently, Igbos do not tolerate subjugation by their fellow human being. When a Haitian says, "Mwen se Ibo" they are attesting their Igbo/African identity and their connection to Igbo culture through Vodou - they are connected to African culture and they are connected to the land - as opposed to having a colonized mindset.

-This is not to say that Vodou is Igbo religion -

My point is that elements of Igbo culture were preserved within Haitian Vodou-as were elements of other West African cultures. Haitian Vodou is an amalgamation of the traditions of all the African nations brought to Hispaniola during the slave trade including the culture of the indigenous Taino. Vodou was futher mixed as the enslaved syncretized it with Catholicism to hide the practice from their oppressors.

Notwithstanding, Igbo / Hebrew presence in Haitian culture remains PROMINENT. To the degree that to this day Haitians use the saying, "Mwen se Ibo. Not because they have done a ancestral DNA test or because they have near relatives in eastern Nigeria. They say" Mwen se Igbo," and sing the phrase," Ibo Granmoun Oh" because their Igbo ancestors taught them to and they have never forgotten.

Some Haitian Igboisms / Hebrewisms include:

Ritually cleansing baths - mikvah

Spiritual cleansing ritual with chicken - kapparot

Koshering meat - today animals are slaughtered by slitting the throat and letting the blood fully drain out of the animal. The meat is then soaked in a saltwater bath with Citron fruit, then seasoned and boiled (chode) BEFORE finally, stewing or frying. (Note-as with other people taken in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Haitians incorporated unclean meats into their diet.)

Matlòt - (Co-wife)  In polygyny in which the man maintains SEPARATE HOUSEHOLDS with the women and all involved are in agreement.

Ibo Lele - The principal Lwa (spirit) contributed to the pantheon of Haitian Vodou by the Ibo People, it is commonly referred to as Ibo Granmoun.

The similarities between Haitian culture and Omenana Igbo as presented in the book The Igbos & Israel by Remy Ilona are impossible to ignore. Omenana is Israelite culture in its most distilled form.  I'm convinced that a return to Omenana is the path to peace, prosperity and spiritual fulfilment for the Igbo Diasporans in Haiti and worldwide. An nou retounen rasin Ibo nou.

Ayibobo