Tell My Horse

As a first-hand account of the weird mysteries and horrors of voodoo, Tell My Horse is an invaluable resource and fascinating guide. Based on Zora Neale Hurston's personal experiences in Haiti and Jamaica, where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer of voodoo practices during her visits in the 1930s, this travelogue into a dark world paints a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies and customs and superstitions of great cultural interest.

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LibraryThing member aestrea

This is one of the best acedemic 'insiders' view of real haitian vodou. This is a must have book for anyone in the religion, thinking about becoming a part of the religion, or simply curious about what is real and what is false.

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LibraryThing member antiquary

Very vivid account of Hurston's travels through Jamaica and Haiti and her
exploration of voodoo and related beliefs. Parts of the book dealing with Jamaica are fairly conventional travelogue, and her grim version of Haitian politics before the US intervention (which she regards as beneficial) may be

controversial, but her participant-observer accounts of attending voodoo ceremonies are strikingly sympathetic for that period. She does report rumors of the cannibalistic "Secte Rouge" but regards it as separate from orthodox voodoo. She also is clearly aware that "zombies" are actually victims of poisoning, a fact whose "discovery" was widely hailed much more recently, but which was apparently the opinion of several qualified observers in Haiti in her day.

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LibraryThing member Eye_Gee

I've been interested in Voudoon culture since reading "The Serpent & The Rainbow". Here is another book told by someone from outside, but wholly accepting, of the religion. Hurston spent a lot of time in Jamaica and Haiti and describes the many things she saw there. She was more than a little

intrepid, as she set out to learn as much as she could about the beliefs and practices of the culture.

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LibraryThing member LibroLindsay

I am super fascinated by Hurston's anthropological work, and her treatment of the voodoo and politics of Haiti and Jamaica was terrific...but...I think the delivery was difficult for me. I loved it when her wit shone through, but there's a lot of "this happened, then this, then this," which made me

doze off or read for pages without actually reading and then I had to back up. And not having a working knowledge of Haiti's history, I had a hard time following the often non-linear addressing of that topic. I am looking forward to reading some more of Hurston's nonfiction, though, to see how it compares.

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Read Harder: Book published between 1900-1950

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LibraryThing member Ghost_Boy

This is the type of book you'd probably never see me read if it was written by an author I didn't know. I love Zora Neale Hurston. This isn't her best book, but it's one that caught my interest. The topic of voodoo interested me enough to make this my second book by her. Plus, when I was in

elementary school I had to do a report on Haiti, so I have some interest in that country as well. Luckily, I found this book not only entertaining, but learned a few things too.

Tell My Horse is about voodoo culture in Jamaica and Haiti; Hurston mainly focuses on Haiti. One thing I picked up, most of my knowledge of voodoo comes from the media. Starting to realize after reading this book, there is way more to voodoo than dolls and curses. I didn't realize they have their own gods. Nor did I realize their religion isn't all that bad either. Again, I blame the media. I love how she talks about the music in this book too. I almost could hear the drum beats.

I should point out this book does go into race and politics. Most of the racial issues made sense and were needed, but politics seemed a little off topic. I don't really know much about Haiti, other than some people I personally know who've been there, but I just found the politics part a little confusing. Maybe some who knows the country better will get more out of it than me.

I think this book is worth the read, but I think you have to be really into the topic or into Hurston to fully enjoy this book.

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LibraryThing member jonbrammer

Everything Hurston touched with her pen turned to gold. Easily one of the five best American novelists of the 20th Century, ZNH was also an anthropologist and folklorist. Tell My Horse explores the culture and customs of Jamaica and Haiti, with a harrowing descriptions of a pig hunt, zombies, and

secret cannibal societies. Hurston maintains her witty, particular voice throughout, placing herself as a character on the scene, someone who is trusted to share in the most arcane rituals.

There is some discussion in the postscript of Hurston's chauvinism, in the way she pronounces some dancing "barbaric" and is drawn to the more lurid aspects of voodooism. Throughout her life, she had a more conservative, contrarian bent than many of her AA contemporaries (like Richard Wright). She is not interested in the politics the black experience in the Western Hemisphere, just as she does not idealize her subject matter. She does idealize a white doctor who presides over an insane asylum, a friend who introduced her to some of the elites in the Port au Prince expat community. There is anundertone of disparagement towards Haitians (they are corrupt liars), reminiscent of the character of Mrs. Turner in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace

I was first attracted to Hurston as a person when I learned that she was a visionary anthropologist. She dressed flashy and was considered outlandish and flamboyant. Quite the opposite of her writing which is considered serious, scholarly, didactic, and intellectual. I expected Tell My Horse to be

a combination of the two and I was not disappointed. Hurston claims to have seen a real zombie, Felicia Felix-Mentor, and even photographed her! Sadly, she does not share them within the pages of Tell My Horse.
There is a sly humor hidden in Huston's prose which is not easy to do when describing Haiti's violent history. I particularly enjoyed the section on voodoo. Voodoo is a belief, almost like a religion or an ancient form of mysticism. Hurston is patient with her readers while she explains the culture, delving into the powers of a Mambo, a loa or houngan. Do not mess with Ogoun Feraille, god of war. Make sure to honor other gods like Damballa and Guede as well.
Tell My Horse is riddled with superstitions like do not sharpen hunting blades on the day of the hunt or your dogs will be killed. Soups have to be male (cock soup instead of chicken soup). There is a stone that urinates. A goat can be a consort. The story of Celestina and her goat, Simalo, was bizarre. Rumor had it Celestina and Simalo were married. In order to marry a wealthy man, Celestina needed a "divorce" from the goat. Her father ended up murdering the goat and giving it a Christian burial with flowers, closed casket, and smoking censora as the goat was Celestina's father's best friend.
In truth, I wished Tell My Horse came with a soundtrack. I would have enjoyed listening to the songs of invocation. There is a whole section at the end of Tell My Horse of songs of worship to voodoo gods.

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